


Mouse Trap

by Queen crowner (Taitai83)



Series: Mouse Hunt [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged Up, Blowjobs, Consensual Sex, Facials, IDENTITY SHENANIGANS, Light Dom/sub, Marking, More tags as I go, Multichat - Freeform, Porn With Plot, Predator/Prey, Rough Sex, Sex, adrienette friendship, apparently 'identity shenanigans' has to be in all caps wtf?, but it's not part of this story, friends with benefits?, marichat I guess, mentions of reluctance, some spoilers for season 3 in the notes, there's a lot more talk about marks than I thought there would be, until they catch feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:40:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22853383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taitai83/pseuds/Queen%20crowner
Summary: Several weeks after she rescued Chat from akumatization, MultiMouse has to make another appearance. Maybe if she and Chat can get past the initial awkwardness, they might find they're exactly what the other needs.A MultiChat smut fic.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Mouse Hunt [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1642765
Comments: 200
Kudos: 963





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm back with a continuation! This follows directly after the events in Mouse Hunt, so you may want to read that one first, I'm not sure it will make sense otherwise. While that one was a purely smut one-shot, this one turned into a multi-chapter endeavor. I have about 9 chapters outlined, we'll see if I can stick to that. 
> 
> A couple things: Mouse Hunt was written before Kwamibuster and the rest of season 3, so the mouse transformation phrase is wrong in that one, and I discussed Marinette borrowing Mullo from Master Fu. For this fic, it makes the plot line easier if Marinette is the guardian, along with a couple other plot points that will become clear, so I'm sticking with those elements from canon. Please ignore the inconsistency, I'm not going to go back and edit Mouse Hunt.
> 
> Also, we're abandoning Viperion for this one, I tried to see if I could work him in somehow, but it was getting too convoluted. Maybe he'll have a cameo at some point, but no promises.

Ladybug sighed to herself looking over the scene, trying to come up with a different plan than the one her lucky charm was indicating. It had been two weeks and her partner was just now starting to smile again, at least his NATURAL smiles, and she didn’t want to mess with that. But as she surveyed the wreckage the akuma was creating, sizing up her situation and weighing her options, she really didn’t see another choice.

Sighing again, she turned to Chat Noir, who had been waiting patiently off her right shoulder.

“We need help,” she said decisively, mustering all her Ladybug authority.

“Who’s it going to be, Bug?”

She hesitated just a moment, then tossed the red and black spotted Disneyland hat towards him, waiting until he caught it to respond.

“MultiMouse.”

She saw him stiffen, his tail ceasing it’s constant shifting, his pupils widening just a touch. He opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off.

“I know there’s a thing there, Chat, but this is what we need. We need someone who can get in there undetected, and there’s no one better than the Mouse miraculous for that.”

She eyed him uncertainly, but didn’t let her authority drop. His tail started lashing in agitation and his mouth was set in a hard line, but he nodded his agreement.

Releasing a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, she continued.

“I’ll have MultiMouse split herself and shrink down. You keep him distracted, and her minis will approach the akuma from the back. I’ll have her signal you when they’re ready, and then you be ready to cataclysm the object once she can pull it free,” she indicated the pocket, tucked discreetly into the akuma’s billowing black robes, where hours earlier they had determined the akumatized object must be.

“And you, m’lady?”

“I’ll be on the far side, ready to catch the butterfly once it’s free, but I’ll have stay out of sight while MultiMouse is doing her thing, so I don’t attract attention and throw her off.” She paused, and sized up her partner. “You gonna be ok?”

Chat shot her a very fake grin and an exaggerated wink.

“Absolutely, m’lady, no problem at all!”

His missing the opportunity for a pun was very telling, but she couldn’t afford to call him on it right now.

“Great, keep that charm here, I’ll come back for it”. She swung away and landed several blocks over, ducking into an alley to drop her transformation.

“Eat up, Tikki,” Marinette muttered quietly, pulling the mouse miraculous necklace from her purse and slipping it around her neck. “Mullo, get squeaky!”

As Tikki munched quickly on her macaron, Marinette felt the quivering power of Mullo’s transformation wash over her. Her twitching senses felt so different from the forceful lucky sensation of Tikki’s, but it was powerful in its own way.

When Tikki nodded that she was ready, Marinette split herself into 12, each shrinking down to the size of an actual mouse. Then one of her multiples squeaked “Tikki, Mullo, unify!”

LadyMouse scurried out of the alley and to the far side of where the akuma was being taunted by her partner, so she could be stationed ready to capture the akuma once it was released by Chat’s cataclysm.

The other Mice dashed to their positions, two hefting the mirror of Marinette’s compact and hiding behind a potted plant on the street, while two more delicately began climbing the folds of the akuma’s robes, taking care not to pinch or call attention to themselves while it was focused on Chat. Finally, they reached the hidden pocket.

“Ok, let’s go,” one mini-Mouse squeaked, gently pulling the pocket open so her counterpart could fish for the object inside. After a moment she grinned, and tugged a black and purple heart charm free of the fabric.

Down on the street, her other minis flashed the mirror in the sun and signaled to Chat. Clever kitty that he was, he didn’t give them away by reacting, but immediately shifted from “taunt and distract” into launch mode.

MultiMouse felt the akuma’s surprise at the sudden change, but after 7 years of partnership, she could read Chat’s movements like a book. Adjusting her hold on the shifting robes as the akuma reacted to Chat’s attack, her one mini helped the other fling herself into Chat’s flight path. With unerring precision, his corroding claw grazed the charm as she was at the peak of her arch, and it disintegrated as she dropped to the ground.

The MultiMice all scurried back to the alley, trying to stay out of everyone’s line of sight. She knew that Chat had seen her as he flew by, but she was trying to avoid eye contact and any ensuing awkwardness.

LadyMouse dashed from her hiding spot and snapped up the struggling akuma before it had even fully emerged from the demolished jewelry.

“Gotcha!” She exclaimed, keeping her voice low so that she wouldn’t be spotted by either the akuma victim or by Chat as he returned to help. As soon as she disappeared around the edge of the alley, she released her unification and pulled her minis back to resume her normal size.

Quick as she could, she dropped Mullo’s transformation and called back Tikki’s. She sighed as Tikki’s luck and authority washed over her, ready to take charge again.

Hurling her yo-yo around a chimney above her, she pulled herself out of the alley and landed delicately on the roof. As she leapt over to the roof where Chat had left her lucky charm, she could see her partner below her approaching the victim, apparently a heartbroken teenage girl.

She retrieved the mouse ears and tossed the hat the air, calling for her miraculous Cure, before jumping down to join them.

Ladybug landed beside Chat just as the he was waving the girl off with a smile. He turned to her and offered her a grin of his own before offering her his fist.

“Pound it!” they said in unison.

As Ladybug retrieved her hand, Chat looked around.

“Where’s MultiMouse?”

“She went home directly, she didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Ladybug cringed a bit at the lie, but it was a convenient excuse.

Chat, however, didn’t seem comforted. He frowned.

“What? No way, she did great, she shouldn’t have to slink away un-thanked just because I’m being an idiot,” he muttered, looking over his shoulder again.

“Don’t worry about it, Chat,” Ladybug said hastily. “She’s fine, she understands.”

He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the beeping of his ring. Ladybug gave him a reassuring smile.

“Looks like you’d better get going too, Chaton. Good job today.” She made to throw her yo-yo out again, but his hand on her arm stopped her.

“Wait, My Lady, could I talk to you for a minute? After our kwamis recharge?”

Ladybug searched his troubled green eyes with a frown, and nodded.

“Arc de Triomphe in 10 minutes?”

He smiled and nodded, but didn’t visibly relax before they took off in opposite directions.

Marinette dropped her transformation on a quiet rooftop and handed Tikki a cookie from her bag, smiling at Mullo nibbling on a peanut butter cracker in the compartment as she retrieved it. Then she sat with her back against the chimney while she waited, wondering just what Chat wanted to talk to Ladybug about.

The Arc de Triomphe was an ideal location for the heroes of Paris to talk because the wide open arena surrounding it made it certain they wouldn’t be overheard. Chat was already waiting when Ladybug arrived, waving to passers-by with a would-be casual attitude, but from her vantage she could see the tense prick of his ears and the agitated lashing of his tail. Upon hearing her land behind him, he turned to her and the pair settled side by side in the middle of the structure.

“Thanks for coming, My Lady,” Chat said softly.

“What’s on your mind, kitty?”

“I wanted to talk about MultiMouse.”

Ladybug stiffened. She hadn’t expected that.

“Okaaay… I’m sorry I had to use her today Chat, but we really-“

“No, no, Ladybug, not- not about that. I’m glad you called her, we needed her and she did great. I actually…” He paused and huffed a breath. “I wanted to talk about BEFORE. About the situation when I was akumatized.”

His cheeks flushed pink and Ladybug was glad he was avoiding looking at her so he wouldn’t see that hers were as well. After a brief pause he cleared his throat and continued.

“Wh- what did she tell you? About that night?”

“I… I got the gist of it.” She paused and considered her next words. “She said that both you and Viperion seemed really uncomfortable the next morning.”

Ladybug squirmed as the pit in her stomach reformed, not quite as strong as it had been that morning, but uncomfortable enough. She still didn’t regret anything, but she wished it had turned out differently.

“Well, yeah, I mean, it was a lot to take in all in one go. I didn’t know which guilt to wallow in first.”

She looked up at him sharply. “What do you mean, ‘guilt’?”

“What, are you kidding? Where do I start?” He held up his hand and started ticking his fingers. “To start with, there’s the fact that I got akumatized in the first place and had been terrorizing you. Then there’s the part where I was hunting MultiMouse in the first place. Then there’s the part where she felt she had to use herself as bait and let us…”

He dropped his hand as he trailed off, and he swallowed hard.

“She said the next day that we shouldn’t feel bad, that she didn’t do anything she didn’t want to, and that we were both really emphatic about her consent, but I don’t know…”

“Chat, I talked to her about it, you really don’t have to feel guilty about her role in any of it, she knew what she was doing.”

“Ok, but even pretending I can let that part go, which I can’t yet by the way, no matter what she said. Even getting past that part, the bit that has me worked into knots is how it made ME feel.”

Ladybug scrunched her brow in confusion. “How… WHAT made you feel? The… that night?”

He nodded, but her confusion didn’t clear.

“Do you actually remember it?” she asked.

“No, I don’t have any memories of anything I actually did, but I have this FEELING. It’s like… comfort? No, that’s not the right word. Maybe satisfaction? Completeness? Aaargh it’s so frustrating! This is why I needed to talk to you.”

He turned to her with pleading eyes, but she didn’t even know what question she was supposed to be answering.

“Chat, I don’t understand.”

“Ok. Ok so. I have to apologize but I literally don’t have anyone else to talk to about this stuff, and I definitely can’t talk to anyone about MultiMouse specifically, because how the heck would that even come up, you know?”

She nodded her understanding and he continued.

“To start, you have to understand that my sex life has been… I don’t know how to explain it without it sounding really bad. Suffice it to say, I haven’t had a lot of control over my… encounters.”

Yes, that sounded really bad. Ladybug straightened in alarm.

“Chat, that’s-“

He placated her with a raised hand. “I’m ok, my lady, I’m not in any danger I promise, I’m safe. But I haven’t been in an actual relationship since I was a teenager, and we weren’t getting physical at 15. My physical partners have all been chosen _for_ me, as dates to one thing or another, and once I got old enough there was sort of an expectation…”

He trailed off again. At 21 years old he towered over her, 6'2" of lean strength and muscle, but in this moment he seemed small. Ladybug choked on the ire bubbling up in her.

“Chat, are you kidding me?? Are you telling me that you didn’t WANT to have sex with any of your previous partners??”

“No, that’s… not exactly,” he sighed. “I’ve only been with a few people, and there was only once where I actually wasn’t… It’s just that I’ve never had a real relationship with someone I WANTED to be with, and I’ve definitely never been the person driving the situation.”

Ladybug wasn’t fully mollified. For one, she wanted to know just WHO was setting up these “dates” that her kitty didn’t want to be going on, but apparently that wasn’t the point because he continued.

“And then I woke up that morning with MultiMouse curled up in my arms, and I didn’t have any memories of how I got there or what happened, but I could FEEL it. I could FEEL my power over her. It was like… I was a hunter and a protector at the same time and it felt… right.”

He flushed again and took a deep breath, as if trying to re-ground himself in the present. Ladybug was glad for the reminder to breath herself, trying to clear the growing heat from remembering how SHE felt that night and morning, the deep timber of his soft voice as he spoke about it reverberating in her chest. She tried, unsuccessfully, to keep her heart from accelerating its pace.

“Isn’t that… good?” she forced herself to ask.

“Yeah, I mean, except it freaked me out because I didn’t know what it meant, and then she and Viperion woke up and she explained what happened, and then I freaked out about THAT because one, akumatized, and two, maybe sexual assault? I know, she says we’re fine on that part, but I didn’t know that right away and everything else was kind of overwhelming. So I was freaking out, and I’m pretty sure Viperion was freaking out too but he’s harder to read, and I think we scared MultiMouse and made her feel bad, but I didn’t even realize that part until MUCH later.”

He sighed again and Ladybug considered. While it hadn’t been a good feeling, she had accepted that the boys were definitely NOT on board with any further encounters and had scurried home. But she hadn’t accounted for his confusion, and his explanation made sense. Making a mental note to check on Luka, she returned to the issue at hand.

“So… it sounds like…” she paused. “I don’t know WHAT it sounds like. It sounds like you liked the feeling you had that morning, but not right away? And now you’re confused?”

He chuffed a mirthless laugh. “Yeah that about sums it up. Clear as mud.”

“Well,” she began, and he turned to look at her, kitten eyes in place. “It sounds to me like the person you need to be talking to is MultiMouse.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir and MultiMouse have a talk

MultiMouse picked her way across the rooftops, lamenting her missing yo-yo for its range and speed, but grateful that the more-limited range of her jump rope forced her to focus on her trajectory instead of her tumultuous feelings about the man waiting for her at the end.

Her target was a secluded rooftop in an industrial district, a place that would be mostly deserted at this time of day, even if it wasn’t as isolated as the Arc de Triomphe. She didn’t want to make a public appearance as MultiMouse if she could avoid it.

Approaching the rooftop Ladybug had given to Chat, she could see him already waiting for her, his posture as stiff and anxious as it had been the previous day, and all the more obvious without the distraction of waving to pedestrians.

She pulled herself up on to the roof and her senses quivered as she noticed him notice her. He was still tense, but when focused on her it seemed more nervous and less threatening.

“Hi Chat Noir,” she greeted him, somewhat stiffly.

“Good evening, MultiMouse,” he replied, and she blinked in surprise. She’d never heard him so formal before.

“Ladybug said you wanted to talk to me,” she prompted, sitting down next to him but leaving a bit of space between them.

“Yeah I-“ his voice cracked a bit, and he cleared his throat. “Yeah, thanks for coming. It’s kind of a haul from most of the residential areas.”

“Not a problem.” She paused, and then prompted him again. “What’s on your mind?”

“Well first, thanks for your help yesterday. You did really great. I’m sorry you felt like you had to run off without acknowledgement.”

She flushed a bit, but made herself respond. “It wasn’t a big deal, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, after…”

She let herself trail off, hoping he’d pick up the thread.

He didn’t disappoint.

“I wanted to apologize for that too. I know I kind of freaked out the morning after, but I hope you’ll let me explain?”

She nodded, and he took it as his cue to continue.

“First, I want you to know that I felt really GOOD when I woke up, but I was really confused by it. I couldn’t remember anything we did, but I could feel it. I could feel the dynamic, the… _predator_ in me. I’ve never felt that before. It didn’t scare me, but it really threw me for a loop. And then you told us what happened and I was so aghast that I had hurt you, and-“

“Chat, really-“ she tried to interrupt, but he held up a hand to forestall her.

“I know, Mouse, I know you’ve said you didn’t do anything you didn’t want to. I do believe you. But that just leads me to my next question. WHY did you want to?”

She wasn’t expecting that question, though perhaps she should have. She took a breath and leaned back on her hands, considering her answer. She could feel him watching her, and felt her heartrate pick up a bit.

“So. I-, hmm. Probably the best way to explain it… I spend my whole life taking care of things, and I’m in charge of a LOT. I have a lot of responsibilities, and I have since I was in college and took on WAY too many projects and class representative and a whole lot of everything else.”

She paused and he nodded in understanding, so she continued.

“And this,” she gestured between them. “This was the first time that I had ever relinquished control. It was the first time I’d given up that power, _especially_ in sex. The first time I hadn’t tried to be in charge, take care of everything myself, and let someone else… take care of it. And it was… I woke up feeling really good too. REALLY good. I felt… complete. Satisfied?”

She took another deep breath to try to quell the flush that had risen through her as she remembered that feeling, and realized she probably wouldn’t have been brave enough to tell him all that honestly if she hadn’t already known some of his side from Ladybug’s conversation with him. She glanced over to find him staring at her with an intense look in his eye. His unruly blond hair, longer now that they were older, seemed to morph into a mane around him, making him seem larger and more powerful. MultiMouse felt herself tremble with Mullo’s instincts again, and tried to summon her bravery.

“D-does that make any sense? It feels hard to explain.”

He blinked like she had startled him and sat back again, creating a bit of space. “Y-yeah, yeah it makes total sense. I know what you mean about it being hard to explain that feeling.”

A silence settled over them, but it didn’t feel comfortable, and MultiMouse wasn’t sure how to broach the subject again. Luckily, Chat did it for her.

“Can I- I feel like I need to explain some things about my personal life. No identifiers!” he injected hastily. “But… you should know my background so you understand.”

She nodded, and he briefly recounted the story he had told Ladybug. As MultiMouse listened to him, she wondered again just how he had ended up with these women in the first place.  
“So that feeling of control, that feeling of power… it was intoxicating. Honestly, even though I freaked out about it, I carried that power for the next two days. I felt… I had a confidence that I haven’t felt in… well ever.”

He looked over at her again, and she could see the power gleaming in his eyes just from telling the story. She shivered again.

“So… what now?” she asked.

The power faded into uncertainty.

“Uh… well, I have no idea. My goal for this was to apologize for being weird and clear the air. Which, I think we did?”

He glanced at her and she nodded. She waited for him to continue but when he didn’t, she prompted him again.

“I sense there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”

Chat chuffed a laugh.

“Yeah... BUT. But I wasn’t expecting… I wasn’t expecting your response. I don’t know how to approach it.”

“Approach what?”

“You- you’ve got to understand, I’ve been in love with Ladybug since practically the minute I met her, and while I’ve liked other girls, I’ve never felt the PULL that I felt with her. Which was fine, I never wanted to. Until now. It’s not the same, exactly. I can’t really explain it, but there’s something about you that PULLS me.”

MultiMouse considered, and summoned her bravery again.

“Well, I understand two things. One, I felt the best I have in years after letting go of control that evening. Two, you’ve told me you felt powerful after TAKING control. I feel like we could help each other.”

Meeting his eye, she could see that his were wide with surprise.

“You-you’d be ok with that?”

“Yes,” she said as firmly as she could manage. “I trust you.”

“You don’t even know me.”

She hesitated. Of course MultiMouse didn’t know Chat very well.

“I don’t need to KNOW you to trust you. You’ve been protecting Paris, protecting ME, for years. So I’ve trusted you for years.”

“You’d need to trust me deeper than that, did you forget that I know your name?”

Her heart stopped, and she suddenly had a vision of casting an illusion of herself handing the miraculous back to Ladybug, so that Chat wouldn’t realize who LADYBUG was. It was so long ago, she HAD forgotten.

His voice brought her back.

“I can see from the look on your face that you didn’t remember that. Look, it’s ok, we don’t-“

She cut him off. “Just! Just give me a minute. I need a minute to process.”

They sat in silence for several moments while she mulled over this little wrinkle. When she’d come to her conclusion, she turned back to him with a small smile.

“Ok. I think I’m ok with it. Honestly, it would make it easier, being able to use my apartment instead of having to find abandoned rooms all over the city.”

She could tell she’d surprised him.

“Wow, ok. Uh. Hmm.” He frowned in concentration. “This… how would this work? You’d have to trust me not to go too far. But I’d also have to trust you to tell me if I am. I’m actually not sure about that part, I’ve seen you take on too much for years. Can I really count on you to tell me to stop if you were uncomfortable?”

“Yes,” she said quickly.

“How about you actually think about it and try again?”

The commanding tone of his voice brought her up, and she did think about it. Thought about the feel of his claws at her throat, the weight of him pinning her to the wall, the feel of his cock… she realized her breathing had picked up. But she understood. He needed to trust her as much as she needed to trust him.

“Yes, I would tell you to stop if I wanted you to,” she said, much quieter this time.

He stared at her and she met his gaze, and she realized that his breathing was a bit quicker as well.

“But are you really sure you want THIS? Because I wouldn’t have thought-“

“Chat! Don’t tell me what I would or wouldn’t want!” she burst out in frustration. “I’m sitting here telling you that I want this. Do YOU want it? What do you want?!”

“What I WANT, Princess, is to pin you to this fucking rooftop right now and make you squirm underneath me!” he retorted with a growl.

If she had doubt he actually knew her identity, his use of her familiar nickname obliterated it, and the silence that followed was deafening. Their eyes were locked together, both of them challenging the other to look away. MultiMouse won that contest by wetting her lips, drawing his eyes to the movement.

“Well, kitty Chat,” she said slowly, his eyes still following her lips. “You’ll have to catch me first.”

And she leapt off the roof, jump rope ready to swing her to the other side.

She could tell he gave her a head start. When she raced Chat as Ladybug, she would go hard and fast over the rooftops, usually throwing taunting looks over her shoulder. As MultiMouse, there was no way she was going to win a speed race, so she kept low, slinging her way through the narrow alleyways and hidden crevices that were so prevalent in the old city of Paris. She had the advantage that he didn’t know where she was going, not necessarily at least, so he couldn’t predict her path, and her jump rope was much more effective at sharp changes in direction than his baton.

So she managed to keep out of his reach and even out of his sight. It wasn’t until she had latched onto the rail of her own small false balcony and was preparing to pull herself into her open window that she sensed him, a fraction of a second before she was hit with the full weight of a 6’2” panther tackling her into her living room.

She rolled with the impact, but before she could get her bearings she felt herself flipped and suddenly she was on her back, her wrists pinned above her head in one strong grip, her hips trapped beneath a wickedly grinning Chat Noir, his green eyes alight with mischief and lust.

“Gotcha, little mouse,” he drawled, his words muddled a little by the purr starting in his throat. He traced a claw from his free hand gently around the curve of her jaw, using the point to tip her chin up, exposing her neck to him. “Want to have some fun?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what's coming next? Go on, guess!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, let's get to it... 👀👅

MultiMouse flexed her fingers to ensure blood flow as Chat pinned her wrists to her living room carpet. His grin above her was warmer than it had been as Chat Blanc, but still predatory, still caused her heart to race and breath to catch. In that moment, she didn’t think she’d ever seen him look so sexy.

“What’s the matter, little mouse, cat got your tongue?” he teased. “I thought this was what you wanted.”

“It is,” she breathed, shifting her hips under the pretext of finding comfort so that they _casually_ rubbed against the inside of his thighs.

His eyes darkened, and he looked down his nose at her, trapped under his hands, and squeezed his legs to still her.

“Hold still,” he commanded. “We’ll get to that, but I’m going to make you squirm a bit first.”

He continued to draw his claw along her exposed skin in a would-be casual sort of way, and she froze beneath the hint of threat.

“Good girl. Now, first things first, mousinette. Do you have contraception?”

_Right. That._

“I’m on birth-control,” she answered.

“Any health concerns?”

“No,” she answered. And then, “You?”

It occurred to her that _pinned and panting underneath him_ was probably not the optimal time to be having THIS conversation, but better late than never.

He smirked. “No, pet.”

His claw returned to her jaw and tilted her chin up again.

“Are you comfortable with a bit of pain?”

Her heart rate accelerated again.

“ _Yes_ ,” she breathed.

He considered her, his green eyes narrowing slightly as he looked her over.

“You’re afraid of that. I can smell the change in you. Fuck, it smells _delicious_ ,” he growled. “But why do you say yes if you’re afraid?”

The words echoed in her ears, reminding her of his white suit and violet eyes, and her adrenaline kicked up even more.  
“It’s Mullo’s instincts that make me afraid. It makes it more exciting,” she explained breathlessly.

He smirked at her again.

“Whatever the lady wishes,” he teased. “And how do you feel about marks?”

He drew his claw down her neck again, and she craned her neck to give him better access.

“ _Yes, please.”_

“Eager, are you? Why? I would have thought you’d want to be more discreet.”

“I… I like the reminders.”

He _hissed_ at that, and shifted his hips so that more of his weight lay on her pelvis, allowing her to feel his hardening cock pressing against her, though, to her intense frustration, not where she wanted it most.

“And did you have _reminders_ of last time? I don’t remember seeing any marks on you when I woke up.”

“Y-yes. Not marks. Other… other reminders.”

“Tell me,” he commanded. “Tell me what they were and what you remembered from them.”

Her breathing picked up as she thought about it.

“M-my throat was sore for two days from taking… yo-you dow-“

“No euphemisms. I want to hear your pretty, innocent mouth say the words.”

She flushed and swallowed hard.

“My throat was sore for two days from… from how hard you fucked my mouth with your cock.”

She took a deep shuddering breath at the memory at the same time she felt him do the same. He pressed his hips into hers and she gasped.

“What else?”  
“M-my back was sore, from when you slammed me into the wall. And my shoulders, from when you held me up off my feet while you fucked me.” She swallowed again. “Every time I reached for something, I thought about it.”

She subconsciously tried to roll her hips against his pelvis, to find some friction for the heat building in her abdomen, but he stilled her with a claw on her leg.

“D-don’t!” he coughed, clearly fighting his own arousal. “Hold still until I tell you to move.”

She obeyed, panting slightly as she struggled to hold herself back. He met her eyes again, lust blazing like a fire in his.

“Anything else?” he growled.

“ _Yes_ ,” she sighed. “My- my cunt and ass were sore, from being stretched by your cock so many times.”

“ _Fuck!_ ” he hissed, his grip on her wrist tightening slightly. “God, you’re so fucking hot.”

The claw on her hip dug in slightly, making her gasp, as he lowered his mouth to her ear.

“You liked all of that, didn’t you little mouse?” he whispered coarsely, drawing his teeth over the shell of her ear.

“Yes,” she breathed.

“You want me to do that to you again?”

“ _Yes_.”

“You want me to pin you to the wall and have my way with you?” He lowered his head, scraping his teeth over her neck.

“ _Please_. Yes, please,” she whimpered.

He rolled his hips against her again, his fully hard cock hitting her center and making her gasp and shudder. When his teeth sunk into the soft flesh between her neck and her shoulder she cried out and arched against him, her arms still trapped above her, holding her back.

She felt him smirk against her skin as he licked the bite.

“I wonder how long you could last, if I just kept playing with you right here.”

“Pleas- HAAHHH!” she cried as he bit down again, this time against the column of her neck. “Please, please I need… I need…”

“What do you need, pet?”

“I need you to fuck me. _Please_.”

He pulled back up to smirk at her.

“Well since you asked so nicely…”

With incredible agility, he leapt off of her, pulling her up by her arms. Once again, before she could process her new position, he had flipped her around and held her against his chest, pinning her arms behind her with one hand while his other roamed over her breasts. She let her head drop back against his shoulder while he explored her.

“And how do I get this suit off of you, little mouse?” he purred in her ear.

“Th-the clasp of the necklace is a zipper,” she breathed. “Though… last time… you shredded it with your claws.”

She heard him inhale sharply and his hand momentarily stilled. But then he stepped forward and pressed her hard against the wall, ignoring the rattling of her picture frames.

“Maybe next time,” he whispered. “I want to remember everything this time around, we’re going to do this one thing at a time.”

Without releasing her arms, he leaned back and pulled the zipper down slowly, the cool air on her exposed back causing her to shiver. The zipper didn’t stop at her lower back, Mullo apparently having no hesitations about her desires this time, but continued all the way around to her lower stomach, leaving her completely exposed and quivering in anticipation.

She could feel his eyes roaming her back and ass, and he trailed a single claw down her spine, curving around her cheeks until his fingers lingered tantalizingly close to her core. But he didn’t touch her yet.

She kept herself frozen against the wall, breathing heavily, waiting for him to do what he wanted. And what he wanted was to torment her, it seemed.

“You’re so beautiful, you know that?” he purred in her ear. “All this creamy white skin just begging me to carve marks in it.”

She shivered, both hoping and fearing that he would.

“But not today,” he continued, dragging his lips along the skin of her neck. “At least not there.”

He licked at her shoulder where he had bitten her earlier, but didn’t repeat it.

MultiMouse whimpered.

“What’s the matter, little mouse? You’re not satisfied with my attentions?”

“Please,” she breathed.

“Please what?”

She could hear the amusement and pleasure in his voice.

“Please fuck me. Please.”

“God it is so sexy, hearing you beg,” he muttered into her skin.

With his free hand he reached between them and she felt him pull his own zipper down. Her heart sped up in anticipation. As he freed himself, she felt his hot, hard cock press against the small of her back, reminding her of the first time he had caught her.

Chat adjusted so he could slide his cock between her thighs, rubbing his head against her wet center and bumping her clit as he rocked forward. She moaned loudly, and tried to shift her hips backwards to feel more of him, but he held her firm.

“Soooo wet and hot, pet,” he teased as he rocked forward again. “Is this what you want? You want to feel my cock in your wet pussy?”

“Yes, aaaaah, yes, _please_ ,” she moaned.

He shifted his position and thrust up into her sharply. She gasped and cried out, having almost forgotten how big he was.

“Fuck, you’re so tight!” he muttered, pressing his weight against her again.

“Cha-chat! God, aaaah!” she cried as he drove into her. He still hadn’t released her arms and she had no leverage to press back against him, having to rely on him to hold her up.

But she could always rely on her Chaton.

“You like that, pet?” he hissed into her neck. “Is this what you wanted?”

“Yes, yes, God, yes,” she babbled, the heat tightening in her abdomen. She tried to press both back against him and forward against the wall, needing to feel friction against her clit, but he kept her in place.

“Nuh uh, pet, I’ll get you there when I’m ready, you’re not going to come until I say so.”

She let herself be thrust into the wall, let him almost lift her up, her toes brushing the floor but barely supporting her, as he held her up and stretched her out around his cock over and over again, his thrusts hard and deep every time.

She was gasping for breath, her pleasure was coiling tighter but unable to find release, when his pace picked up ever so slightly.

His voice was ragged and breathy in her ear.

“Such a good girl, do you want to cum now?”

“Yes, please, yes,” she panted in reply.

His arm curled around her hip and he pressed the pad of his finger to her clit, rubbing firm circles on the nub while his claw gently scratched at the skin around it. Instantly the coil in pelvis tightened to bursting.

“Come for me, little pet, and as soon as you do, I’m going to cum inside you,” he whispered.

MultiMouse let herself relax and feel every part of him inside her and the damn burst.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god, Chat! Chat! I’m- I’m- aaaaAAAH!” she cried out as her orgasm rocked through her, her core convulsing around him. She threw her head back against him when he bit down on her shoulder again, groaning through his own climax. She could feel the hot spurt of him within her and it pushed her even higher, her cries continuing after his own had quieted, her hips continuing to rock against his hand that had not let up on her clit.

Finally, when she had been reduced to only twitching against him, he stilled entirely, the weight of his body still holding her against the wall, his cock still filling her up deliciously, both of them breathing heavily.

After a few moments, he released her wrists and she let her arms fall against the wall. He wrapped his arm around her waist and held her for a moment, before pulling out of her. The hot rush of his cum spilling down her legs made her heart race again.

Without a word, he scooped her up and carried her over to her couch, dropping down onto it while pulling her into his lap. She found she could tuck her head under his chin and snuggle into his chest, his strong arms holding her to him, and listen to his own racing heart gradually slowing its beat.

“Are you ok?” he asked, after several quiet minutes, pressing his cheek against her hair.

“Yes,” she answered. “I’m great. Amazing, actually.”

He chuckled gently.

“Glad to hear it. Me too. That was… well, amazing is probably the best word.”

He shifted his hold on her and cleared his throat.

“It- it wasn’t too much? Maybe it’s the cat and mouse thing, but I’ve never felt like… like I could COMMAND like that before.”

MultiMouse smiled, and wrapped her arm around his waist to squeeze herself to him.

“No, it wasn’t too much, it was GREAT. As long-… are YOU comfortable with it?”

“Yeah, that-“

He was cut off by the beeping of his miraculous.

“Ugh, I’m going to get a world of grief from Plagg,” he complained, shifting so that they could both sit up. Then he grinned at her. “Worth it, though.”

She laughed a little, and stood up to give him space to zip himself up.

“Do you want some help with your own zipper?” he asked, clearing his throat as he blatantly ogled her ass.

“No,” she smiled saucily at him. “I figured I’d just lose the suit, that should get me my clothes back.”

She called off Mullo’s transformation and felt the soft cotton of her t-shirt cover her rapidly cooling skin, but when she looked back over at the couch, Chat was still staring at her, wonder in his eyes.

“What?”

He blinked at her and stood up, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear with his claw as he smiled down at her.

“It’s one thing to _know_ that MultiMouse is Marinette, but somehow actually seeing you transform feels different,” he murmured.

“I-is that ok?”

“Better than ok, I-“

His miraculous beeped again and he grimaced.

“I really have to go, or I won’t make it home before he drops me.”

Chat bent down and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Thanks, Princess. Let’s do this again some time.”

He threw her a wink and leapt out the window into the night.

Marinette sighed and rolled her shoulders, which felt stiff from her arms being held behind her for so long, now that she wasn’t in the throws of it.

“Are you ok, Marinette?” Tikki’s high voice called to her as she emerged from the bedroom.

“I’m great, Tik,” she answered. “I feel really good.”

Making her way into her bathroom, Marinette eyed her reflection in the mirror, and smiled to herself.

Those deep red marks on her neck and shoulder would give her a reminder of this feeling for several days.


	4. Chapter 4

They settled into their new dynamic. When she wanted, Marinette would transform into MultiMouse and roam the city, keeping to alleyways and away from the highly populated areas as much as she could. Chat never came to her first, but always waited until she was out and about. It wasn’t spoken, but they both understood that while he held the power over her in their _sessions_ , she held the power on their frequency. It usually took him less than 20 mins to find her. The first time, he’d managed to actually sneak up on her, pinning her to the roof without warning. The capture had spiked her fear response, and her arousal with it.

_“Well, well, well, what do we have here? A little snack out for a midnight stroll?”_

He’d made a show of letting her escape, then capturing her again on the railing of her apartment window. That time he HAD shredded her suit with his claws, but carefully, slowly, one cut at a time in strategic places, while she’d held herself perfectly still at his direction, and when he finally touched her where she needed it she’d been so worked up that she’d come almost immediately.

After that first time she could usually tell when he was approaching, as her mouse senses learned what he felt like, but her fear response never abated.

She _loved_ it.

She loved that Chat didn’t hold back with her. She loved the feel of his claws in her hair, holding her head while he thrust his cock down her throat, or on her hips keeping her in place while his talented tongue drew gasping cries she didn’t even know she could make. She loved the strain on her muscles when he put her into a difficult position, like the time he’d bent her backwards over the arm of the couch, his cock in her ass and his fingers in her pussy. She loved the sharp pain from his claws or his teeth on her delicate skin and she loved the marks she could see for days afterwards.

And then, she loved the cuddles afterwards. He would ravage her to his satisfaction (and hers, always hers), and then in the afterglow would pull her into his chest and purr in a soothing way, stroking her hair or her back, sometimes pressing kisses into the scratches and bites he’d left on her body. She’d fallen asleep on him more than once, and woke to find herself in her bed, still transformed. It was delicious to be so cared for.

She could see the difference in Chat too, especially in his partnership with her as Ladybug, as he wasn’t trying to pursue her anymore. He wasn’t showy or grandstanding, but confident and capable. He still flirted, but it was in a good-natured, joking way, and made her feel closer to him rather than that she had to push him away. He was her _partner_ , in a real sense now. Ladybug was delighted.

She was delighted with _all_ aspects of this situation. Ladybug had visited Luka and been assured that, while he had definitely been uncomfortable the morning he woke up, he had released any guilt or resentment about the whole situation and was at peace with it. Then he had played her a song he’d written about it. She had easily recognized the part where he reflected on the sex itself, and had flushed as it made her reflect too.

Marinette was thankful that it was fall and it wasn’t odd for her to wear an assortment of scarves, cowlneck sweaters, or high-collared jackets, because Chat took her at her word and wasn’t discreet in where he left hickeys. She liked seeing them, the rush of heat flooding her every time she caught a glimpse of the purple and red bruises (and especially the darker marks of his teeth) in the mirror, but she didn’t want anyone ELSE to know what she’d been up to.

She was also thankful for the stress relief her fun with Chat brought, because her final year at University was kicking her ass. The assignments in her classes were more complex than ever before, and she found herself struggling with designs that would fit the required criteria but were still something she’d actually want to MAKE. What did “contrast” even mean in formal wear?

She was walking home from that frustrating morning class with vague ideas of chains and silk floating through her head when she ran headlong into an immovable object. She squawked and flailed and braced herself to land on her butt but was held up by a pair of strong hands attached to even stronger arms.

“Gosh, sorry Marinette! I thought you saw me!”

She looked up, straight into the gorgeous green eyes of Adrien Agreste.

Marinette hadn’t seen him in months, as he had apparently been traveling some during the summer and then was kept at work constantly by his father who was prepping him to step into the business side of _Gabriel_ after graduation. His hair was longer than it had been, but it suited him, giving his classic wholesome good looks a bit of an edge. Idly, the thought flitted across her mind that she couldn’t wait to see whatever ad campaign came out next.

“A-Adrien!” she stammered, attempting to right herself. “No, sorry, I was lost in a mire of terrible design ideas and wasn’t paying attention.”

He chuckled as he steadied her on her feet again, and shifted the messenger bag he was carrying back on his shoulder.

“I’m sure anything you were thinking of would look amazing.”

She blushed. How did compliments from him still affect her like this?

“Well thank you, but no. It’s for an assignment I can’t seem to figure out, so everything is actually awful,” she said, straightening her own purse. “Wait, what are you doing here anyway? I thought all the business classes were on the south campus?”

“I’m taking a couple of physics courses this semester, which are up here. Actually, I have an hour before my next lab, would you want to grab a coffee?” he gestured to a café across the street. “I-if you don’t have your own class, that is?”

“Yeah! No, I’ve just left my morning lecture and I’m done for the day. I was just going to go home and work. I’d love to get a coffee! I feel like it’s been ages since we caught up.”

“Well let’s go! I can’t wait to _catch_ up on everything you’ve been up to!”

They turned to cross the street and Marinette felt like she’d missed a joke, but examining her phrasing wasn’t turning up anything odd. And THAT felt like a miracle, given her history talking to Adrien. Maybe it was a physics joke.

They settled into a table by the window of the small café.

“So, physics labs huh? You were able to fit that into your schedule? Last I heard you were overrun with accounting and management classes.”

He smiled. “I was, actually. Overrun, that is. I decided to add physics as a second major, since I’ve always been interested in science. Business is ok, but I figured if there was ever a time to study what I _want_ , it’s now, before I have to have a real job in the real world.”

“That’s awesome! I’m so impressed you can make that work in the short time frame.”

“Oh I can’t! It’s going to take me an extra year, since I won’t be able to finish my requirements for my business major with all my credits this year going to the physics requirements.”

He leaned in with a conspiratorial smirk on his face.

“Father was _really_ mad, since he wanted me to start at the company right after graduation, but I’m an adult and I’m paying for it myself, so there isn’t anything he can do about it.”

With delighted incredulity, Marinette smirked back.

“Why Adrien Agreste, how very _deviant_ of you!” she laughed. “But seriously, good for you! I think this is the happiest I’ve ever seen you, and all it took is a little rebellion! Meaning taking physics classes, which is very on brand for you.”

“Thanks! It feels good to be doing something _I_ want for once.” He smiled, looking very satisfied. “What about you? Still on track to graduate in the spring?”

“ _Yeesss_ ,” she moaned, dropping her forehead to the table in a huff. “If I can get through these classes. It feels like this final year is just to make us question everything we’ve ever learned about design.”

“It probably _is_ ,” Adrien answered thoughtfully. “How will you think outside the box if you don’t push out of your comfort zone?”

She rotated her head so she could glare at him. “Why do you have to be so reasonable all the time?”

She saw his eyes flick past her ear for a moment and then he smirked again, more mischievous this time, the light of it igniting in his eyes. She felt her heart speed up.

“So, uh, are you seeing anyone?”

Marinette blinked at the abrupt change in topic, and flushed slightly, sitting up.

“Uh, no, no, not seeing anyone,” she faltered.

The smirk on his face deepened and he leaned in again.

“So who left that mark on your neck, then?” he hissed in a stage-whisper.

Marinette flushed scarlet and couldn’t stop herself from clapping a hand over the bruise that Chat had given her two days ago, belatedly realizing her loose cowl-neck sweater hadn’t been covering it after her dramatics.

“I-it’s nothing, j-just, just a casual thing, you know how it is,” she stammered awkwardly.

Adrien laughed and sat back, and despite her embarrassment Marinette couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous he looked with real amusement written on his face.

“No judgement from me, Mari,” he smiled affectionately at her. “As long as whatever it is makes you happy.”

Happy. Did this arrangement make her happy? She smiled slightly to herself, letting herself fall into the memories of her times with Chat. The release she felt, giving him that power over her. And the adrenaline, the excitement of not knowing his next move, of the feel of his claws across her body.

Her gaze went distant, and she felt the beginnings of inspiration trickle in from the edges of her thoughts.

“Uh, Marinette? Are you oka-“

“Shhh!!!” she put her hand up to stop him without focusing her eyes, letting the idea coalesce into…

“A pen!” she shouted, and across from her Adrien jumped in surprise. She dug into her bag for her notebook. “Give me a pen!”

Wordlessly and a little wide-eyed, Adrien pulled a pen from his own bag and handed it to her, snatching his hand back quickly as she frantically took it from him. She paid him no attention, turning immediately to her book and setting ink to paper as she pulled the design to life on the page.

Flowing skirt. Deep v-neck. Wrap style that trailed into off-center ruffles, and those ruffles…. Jagged edges, following the angle of the wrap, that started above the bust on the right side and trailed below the hip on the left. She could imagine it in pink with a gray underskirt, or maybe the other way around, she would have to play with the color when she got home to her paints.

Finally, she put the finishing line on the hem, a ragged line just in the one spot, and sat back to admire it. It was PERFECT. A romantic, flowing wrap gown, that looked like it had been artfully slashed by razor-sharp claws. _CONTRAST._

She looked up with a grin, only to find the seat across from her empty. Her gaze landed on the note left on the table.

_Marinette-_

_Sorry, I had to get to my lab, and I didn’t want to disturb you. I’ve seen that look before! If this time works for you, I’d love to make this coffee a regular thing, my class schedule is the same every Wednesday. Text or call me and let me know!_

_Adrien_

She smiled, and pulled out her phone to text him immediately.

_Sorry for going catatonic on you! I’d love to have coffee on Wednesdays. Same place?_

His reply came within moments, and she realized that she’d been here long enough that his lab must be FINISHED by now.

_Awesome! Looking forward to it! I hope the design came out the way you hoped!_

_Thanks! It did, it’s puuuuurfect!_

She belatedly realized he wouldn’t get the joke, but no matter.

Chat definitely did when she told him about it.

_“If you actually make the gown, Princess, I’d be happy to shred it right off your body,”_ he drawled seductively into her shoulder, letting his claws trail lightly across her abdomen.

She moaned as he bit down on the old bruise on her neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been updating about once a week, but the next chapter may take longer. I've found it the hardest to write, and now my life has been turned upside down with COVID-19 shutting everything down (WA state, USA). My evenings used to be for writing, now they'll be for doing my work for my job that I can't do while my kids are "home schooling". Patience please! And stay safe and healthy everyone!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back. Life is still chaos. If you can believe it, when I first outlined this chapter it didn't have real sex in it at all, it was supposed to be about them finding trust in each other. Not sure if the outcome is because they can't help themselves or I can't lol. I couldn't think how to neatly wrap this chapter up and then decided it didn't really matter.

MultiMouse picked her way across the rooftops with deliberate steadiness. She had been surprised to get a message from Chat as soon as she transformed, but she trusted him enough to do as he asked. So now she was cautiously making her way back to a building that would be forever seared into her memory.

She wasn’t sure if he had some connection to the place in his regular life, and perhaps that was how he came to be hiding out there as an akuma, but she wasn’t about to go looking. Since he asked her to meet him at all, itself an unusual occurrence rather than just hunting her down when she chose to go out, she assumed there was something special about this evening.

She landed on the rooftop and got her bearings. She couldn’t hear anything around her, but this was definitely the right spot. She made her way to the edge of the roof and peered down. There was a faint orange glow coming from the window that she knew opened to the den that had housed Chat and Viperion when they were akumatized, but she couldn’t be sure what it was.

Tentatively, senses on high alert, she used her jump rope to lower herself to the window and peered in. The glow apparently came from a construction extension cord that remained plugged in, but she didn’t see any other sign of life. Maybe she had beaten him here.

She crawled in the window slowly, looking around. It had been months, but her pulse still raced as she glanced around the room, mostly the same as it had been, and remembered it all. The feeling of Viperion’s cool scales against her skin, holding her tightly against his body as he peeled open her suit, her fear at the aggression in Chat’s face when he arrived, the incredible sensation of both of them filling her up…

She shook her head to refocus, and willed her body to calm down.

She crept further into the dark room, looking around. There was definitely a sense of anticipation, but she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The nest of broken mattresses was still in its place off to the side, and she felt the heat rush to her face again.

Suddenly she yelped as, without warning, her foot was swept up from under her, swiftly upending her body and suspending her from the ceiling by one leg, her jump rope lying uselessly on the floor below her. She was still spinning and flailing her arms when she saw him, stalking towards her from around the corner, almost a shadow in the dim light. Though his suit was the normal black instead of white, in her disoriented state she felt all the same fear as she had when he had appeared as an akuma.

As he grinned predatorially at her, that fear quickly gave way to lust.

“Good evening, my little mouse,” he purred, prowling slowly towards her, apparently in no hurry. “You’re right on time.”

She didn’t respond, licking her lips and swallowing her adrenaline. He paused a few feet away and studied her, but made no move to touch her yet. She was still spinning helplessly by her foot, and she felt vulnerable when she was turned away from him, all her mouse senses attuned to his location, waiting.

Just when she began to feel the pressure of the blood rushing to her head, she heard him move, steady footsteps heading in her direction. But he still didn’t touch her. Instead, he reached to the floor and picked up her jump rope, and now that he was closer, she could see him testing the stretch of it in his claws.

She felt him smirk more than she saw it, and he whipped the rope expertly around one of her wrists dangling above the floor, securing it without causing pain. Stepping behind her again, he pulled both her arms behind her and tied them tightly at her back. She could feel the bite of the magical rope in her wrists, but could still move her fingers.

“How’s that feel, pet?”

“G-good, fine,” she whispered.

“Good.”

He trailed his claws along the small of her back and her hip, circling her, admiring her body and his handywork as she hung helplessly before him. It was obvious he was very pleased with himself.

“This worked better than I had even dared hope,” he said, and she could hear the grin in his voice. “The physics around a hangman trap are tricky, but I suppose it helps to know your prey’s approximate height and weight. Could you tell it was there?”

“N-no. I couldn’t even tell you were here at all.”

He paused in front of her and reached down to cup her cheek. She realized that the rope was suspending her so that her head was approximately level with his… hips.

“It shouldn’t turn me on so much to see you like this,” he murmured. “After everything else we’ve done. But God, the things I could do to you right now…”

“So do them,” she whispered, her stomach clenching with anticipation.

MultiMouse could see the bulge in his suit growing as he trailed his other hand up and down her leg.

“I want to savor seeing you like this, but I suppose I could start, if you like.”

“ _Please_.”

His hand left her cheek and she gasped as he swiped swiftly at her body. She felt her suit shred across her breasts and stomach, the cool air of the room hitting her untouched skin. He retraced the gashes slowly, deliberately, leaving shallow scratches along her body that had her moaning for deeper contact. She realized that they would match those that she had put into her evening gown, if she had been wearing it.

She writhed in the air, her arms pinned by her bonds, unable to find any leverage to increase the contact or soothe the ache growing between her legs. He stilled her with a hand on her cheek.

“Eager little thing, aren’t you?” he purred, and her ache deepened. “I can give you something to focus on.”

He grasped his bell and pulled, and as always she couldn’t help but admire his physique as it was unveiled to her, his chiseled muscles casting shadows in the orange glow. But her focus was quickly taken by his incredible cock as it sprang free in front of her eyes.

His thumb traced gently over her mouth before he put pressure on her lower lip.

“Open up, little mouse.”

Obediently she took his thumb into her mouth and sucked, swirling her tongue around it, mindful of the claw. In front of her his cock twitched.

“Fuck you’re so sexy,” he muttered, grasping her head with his other hand to steady her as he pulled his thumb back. “Think you can take all of me like this?”

MultiMouse licked her lips and swallowed before opening her mouth to take in the head of his cock. The unfamiliar angle made it a challenge, and he kept his thrusts shallow to start, allowing her to figure out how best to use her tongue. A swirl around his head before he pulled back elicited a gasp from him and she preened at her success, repeating the action.

“Fuck, God, how are you so good at this?” he muttered, and held her still with just his tip still between her lips. She continued to flick her tongue over his head while he leaned forward to press his mouth to her pussy, still covered in her suit, and licked hard at her clit. She moaned around his cock at the unexpected surge of pleasure.

“I bet from this angle you could take my whole cock down your throat,” he muttered against her, the vibrations from his voice ramping up her excitement. “And once you’ve taken care of me, I’ll take care of you.”

His grip on her head tightened as he surged his hips forward, his cock hitting her palate and causing her to choke before she had a chance to relax her gag reflex. He pulled back and waited for her to swallow before surging forward again, but she was ready this time, and was able to take him farther, his cock stretching the muscles in the back of her throat and blocking her air. The restriction excited her further.

He kept his pace steady as she found her rhythm, able to swallow and breath quickly as he pulled back and prepare for his next thrust.

She couldn’t see Chat’s face from her position, but his breathing began picking up and he groaned, digging his claws into her hair. He sped up, losing some of his control, and MultiMouse struggled to keep breathing around his thrusts.

“I’m going to cum soon, pet,” he grunted savagely, not letting up. “And you swallow what I give you, understand?”

She couldn’t reply, but there was no need. She felt his cock swelling, stretching her aching jaw even farther, chaffing her lips. She felt one hot spurt at the back of her throat and then he quickly pulled back, the hot ropes of his cum splashing across her mouth and cheeks, and then across the bottom of her mask. She licked what she could off her lips and heard him grunt in pleasure again.

“You did so well, little mouse,” Chat purred, panting slightly. He cupped her cheek again, his thumb smearing his cum across her lips for her to lick again. “You ready for your turn?”

He leaned forward and licked firmly against her pussy again, moving his hands to hold her still by her hips. Mouse groaned as the pressure started pooling in her abdomen again, but now that she wasn’t focused on breathing around his enormous cock, she realized something was wrong.

“Ch-Chat, Cha-aaat,” she couldn’t help but moan even as she tried to get his attention. “Chat, stop.”

He pulled back immediately and looked down at her, his expression shifting from cocky to concerned even as she watched.

“M-my ankle,” she said, gesturing with her chin to the foot that was ensnared by the rope holding her up. “My ankle is starting to really hurt.”

“Oh, shit!” Alarm flashed in his eyes and he reached down to wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her weight into his arms and off of the rope. With his other arm he reached up and slashed the rope itself, catching her behind her knees before she fell. He carried her over to the nest and lay her down gently, turning his attention to her ankle. He pulled the loop off her foot and gently palpated around the bone and lower leg, searching for injury.

“I’m so sorry,” he muttered, sounding much more like her uncertain partner and not at all like the commanding predator he’d been throughout this whole arrangement. “I shouldn’t have tried to do so much.”

MultiMouse couldn’t agree with that. She was still worked up, but Chat seemed to have lost focus on that.

“It’s ok, I was really enjoying it, I just needed…”

“You might need someone to look at the ankle,” he said, clearly not listening to her.

“No, it’s fine, I just-“

“Here, let me untie you.” He turned back towards her and moved toward her arms.

“NO!!”

He froze, blinking at her, apparently suddenly seeing her again, still bound and wanting on the bed, his cum still streaked across her face. She arched against the nest, shifting her hips to try and press against him.

“Please Chat,” she whined, letting her arms and position push her chest out, her puckered nipples peeking through the gashes in suit. “I’m fine, thank you for getting me down, but I still want… I still need…”

She saw the moment he shifted from worried to aggressive again. His eyes darkened, and she shivered in spite of the heat she had built.

He crawled up her body and hovered over her, his grin growing as he looked at her.

“You still want me to make you feel good?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

“I think you deserve it,” he purred, letting his eyes roam over her body, lingering on her cum-covered cheeks and lips. “Thank you for telling me that it was too much. I’m glad I can trust you to stop me when you need it.”

He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers, but it wasn’t a comforting motion. It felt like a promise that set her deliciously on edge.

“You took my cock down your throat beautifully too,” he continued. “I think you deserve a reward for being such a good girl. Let’s see how many times I can make you come before you beg me to stop.”

She released a shuddering moan, and pressed her hips up into his, but he pushed her back.

“No, first I think we’ll start with your suit on, then maybe with your suit off, and then if you’re very good and come for me quickly for those, I might consider letting you have my cock again.”

As Chat pressed her legs open and set his talented tongue to her clit once more, Mouse couldn’t help but think it was not going to be any problem to come quickly for him. In fact, by the time he was finished with her, she was covered in his cum over more than just her face, and so exhausted that she gratefully accepted his offer to carry her home.

Her ankle did hurt in the morning, and so did her throat, but she couldn’t bring herself to mind. Every painful step and swallow, every glance at the scratches over her breasts in the mirror, sent a shiver of pleasure through her as she thought about him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sorry again for the longer time between chapters, but I don't see that changing any time soon. This has also expanded to be 10 chapters now, unless I split the next one into two because this one ended up being super long and the next one looks like it's going to be even worse. So yeah, sorry for the complete lack of consistency in chapter lengths! Please enjoy Marinette and Chat Noir falling for each other!

Something was _wrong_ with her partner. After months of their easy relationship, Chat was back to being over-the-top in his flirtations, though Ladybug could tell his heart wasn’t actually in it. He wasn’t really trying to win her, but he was definitely putting on a show.

Maybe she wouldn’t have thought much of it, but he also hadn’t shown up the last two times she had gone out as MultiMouse, which was a first since they had started their whole thing.

As she finally captured the akuma, after a much longer battle than everyone had been used to, with Chat and her so off kilter today, she got a glimpse of his face in an unguarded moment. His mouth was grim and set, his eyes were tight, and his tail and ears were drooping. But then he noticed her looking and gave her a dazzling smile that would have been impressive on the cover of any magazine, and just as fake.

“Great job, m’lady! Pound it!”

She bumped his proffered fist but grabbed his wrist before he could pull away.

“Chat, are you ok?”

His smile flickered for just a fraction of a second, but then it was firmly back in place.

“Of course, my lady! I’m pawesome! Why do you ask?”

Because it wasn’t a great job. Because they were out of sync again. Because he had clearly been out of sorts for days and she had no idea why.

“You just seem a little… wound up.”

He let the smile drop into something a little softer, which she supposed was a start.

“Thanks for the concern, Ladybug. Just been a little too busy, I’ll be fine. Chat out!”

He gave her a quick salute and took off on his baton, vanishing into the cloud-covered streets of Paris.

Ladybug watched him go, then shivered as a cold breeze kicked up and headed for home herself.

As she landed in her living room and dropped her transformation, she let out a sigh.

Everything had been going so WELL.

“Tikki, is there anything I can do?”

“I don’t know, Marinette,” her kwami responded, a little sadly. “If he doesn’t want to share, there’s probably not much you can do. You know he’s trusted you with difficult things before.”

“Yeah, like YEARS after they happened,” she retorted. “I don’t want him to suffer alone if I can help him, but I don’t want to push him and have him shut me out altogether either.”

Tikki gave her a sad smile. “I know you’ll push him exactly the right amount, Marinette. He needs you.”

Marinette sat in her pajama camisole and boy shorts at her drawing table later that evening, her soft bathrobe fending off the chill from the open window that she couldn’t bring herself to close. She twirled the pendant of the Mouse miraculous between her fingers and watched Tikki and Mullo play with her pens. She kept stealing glances at the clock, debating with herself about how early was too early to transform and go see if Chat would show up tonight.

She turned to ask Tikki her opinion, only to find that the little red kwami was nowhere to be found.

“Ti-“ she began, but cut off in surprise as a thump sounded behind her.

Whirling, she saw the man himself standing up to his full height at the edge of her living room.

“Chat!” she exclaimed in surprise.

Not once, in the several months that they’d been seeing each other, had he come to her apartment uninvited. His unease at the situation was obvious, as he stayed on the far side of the room, eyeing her intently but uncertainly, his body stiff and his tail swishing from side to side.

“I-is this ok? That I’m here?” he asked.

“Of course! I was actually just about to go out.” She suddenly realized she had no idea what the etiquette was in this situation. “Uhh… can- can I… get you something to drink?”

She moved to stand but he stopped her.

“No! Don’t! Don’t get up, just stay like that, please,” he said, and it was less of a command than she was used to hearing from him, but she obeyed nonetheless, turning to face toward him with her back straight. She suddenly realized how short her robe was.

Her compliance seemed to give him confidence. He crossed the room and stood in front of her, gently brushing her hair behind her ear with his claws as he looked down at her contemplatively. He wasn’t cocky or commanding tonight, but Marinette’s heart sped up anyway.

“It’s ok that I’m here, Marinette?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” she answered. Then added “I’m really glad you came.”

He smiled softly at that.

“And do you want to play tonight?”

She swallowed.

“Yes, please.”

He didn’t reply but took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Then he swooped her up in his arms and carried her toward her bedroom.

They had only been in her bedroom a handful of times, and as Marinette hadn’t expected to be there this evening, she felt a momentary pang of embarrassment at the clothes she had left on the floor when she’d showered. Chat, however, didn’t seem to notice at all.

She expected him to toss her on the bed and pounce, but instead he lay her down gently and let himself hover over her, propped up on his knee and hands, eyeing her intently.

Chat drew a hand down the front of her robe, gently pushing it open as he stroked down her body. Marinette shuddered and let her eyes close as she savored the feeling of his claws on her delicate clothes.

“Eyes open, please, Princess,” she heard him murmur, and she opened her eyes to meet his gaze.

She almost gasped at the way he was staring at her. The cat-ness of his eyes didn’t hide their intensity and she couldn’t look away. He kept his gaze locked on her while his free hand explored her body, and she let herself respond with gasps and sighs as he gently removed her robe, her shirt, and tugged at her shorts. He continued stroking her, claws trailing so lightly over her breasts that she arched into his hand and was rewarded with a small smile.

He moved his hand lower and she moaned, her eyelids fluttering, as he rubbed his fingers over her clit, then dipped them into her pussy. She hadn’t even realized how wet she’d gotten until he pulled them back, a smirk growing on his face even as she watched. Gently he pumped two fingers back into her, and she gave in and let her eyes close in pleasure before a claw at her chin reminded her to open them again.

The fire had returned to his eyes as he worked her up. While she knew that he knew who she was, and they had been in her apartment 90% of the time, she felt more vulnerable than ever lying under him without MultiMouse’s mask. That he had that kind of heat in his gaze when he was looking at _Marinette_ , not just a pseudo-anonymous superhero, created butterflies in her stomach that were only tangentially related to his fingers in her pussy.

When she felt herself getting closer to coming, he pulled back. Without breaking eye contact, he grasped his zipper and pulled. As always, her eyes traced its progress appreciatively, becoming transfixed on his cock when it sprang free.

After a beat, he recalled her attention with amusement in his voice.

“Eyes up here, Princess.”

Her gaze snapped back to his contritely.

“Sorry, sir.”

“No need to be sorry,” he murmured, and his tone was gentle when she would have expected teasing.

Chat propped himself over her and lined up his cock with her entrance. She shifted her hips in anticipation, but he pulled back, giving her just the tip before pulling back again, while smirking at her agonized response directly below him. She clutched his shoulders and squirmed, silently begging him for satisfaction.

“Eyes on me,” he reminded her. “I want to see the look on your face.”

With that he thrust into her fully, and Marinette cried out loudly, much to his apparent satisfaction.

“Good girl,” he murmured, pulling back and thrusting into her again, drawing another cry from her lips. “You look so beautiful like this. Your eyes are amazing, each time I drive into you they flash. I want to see you like this all the time.”

“Cha-chat, oh god, Chat!”

She could see the sincerity in his face, hovering just inches above hers as he continued to thrust into her, keeping a steady pace instead of the relentless fucking she’d come to expect from him.

Gently, he grasped her hand with his and laced their fingers together, pressing her hand back to the bed while he stroked her cheek with his free hand. Marinette was trying to keep her head over the intimacy of their position while feeling his cock inside her, when he dipped his head and captured her lips with his in a firm kiss.

Heat and emotion exploded in her chest. Surprised as she was, she had no hesitation before she kissed him back, admiring the surprising softness of his lips as they coaxed her own to open for him. She gasped as his oh-so talented tongue traced her lower lip, and moaned as he dipped it into her mouth. She could feel the beginnings of a purr rumbling in his chest, and it spurred the heat growing in hers. Dimly, she was aware that he had never kissed her on the mouth before, but the heat coiling in her lower belly matched that in her chest and before she even realized she was close she had tipped over the edge, arching her back and crying out loudly. Chat swallowed her screams and squeezed her fingers as she rode out the waves of her orgasm, his weight keeping her from lifting off the bed altogether. Only when she had been reduced to light spasms around his cock and shuddering gasps against his lips did he pull back, his affectionate smirk looking even sexier with kiss-bruised lips.

“Eyes on me, I want to see what you feel when I come in you.”

She kept her gaze on his deep green eyes, watching his pupils dilate as she felt his cock swell with each thrust and she gasped once more as she felt his hot release when he was fully sheathed inside her. He grunted and gave one more hard thrust before collapsing his weight onto her and kissing her again.

Marinette was overcome. The tender feel of his lips on hers while she could still feel him inside her threatened to overwhelm her, and she felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She hastily freed her hand from his grip so she could wipe them away.

“Princess?” Chat propped himself up again, looking concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing!,” she muttered quickly. “Just- I’m fine!”

He brushed the wetness away from one eye with the back of his fingers.

“I’m sorry, Marinette, maybe-“

He was cut off by a beeping from his ring and he cursed. He looked down at her again sadly, and gently slid out of her. The hot rush of cum she felt had her gasping again.

“I’m so sorry to leave you like this, but my kwami-“

“Can you stay?” she blurted out before she had a chance to second guess herself. “I-I mean, I was worried, and- I can leave, so you can recharge your kwami in here?”

“You- you want me to stay?” he asked, looking down at her again in surprise.

She nodded.

“Please? You can detransform and I can go get your kwami a snack?”

She could see him hesitating, maybe uncertain about a change in their dynamic. But then, he’d been the one to kiss her, and he’d come to see her when he was avoiding Ladybug, so he couldn’t be too averse to _some_ intimacy between them.

“Ok,” he said finally, after his ring beeped again. “Ok I’ll stay.”

She felt another unexpected rush of emotion and again hastily tried to wipe the moisture from her eyes.

“G-great!” she exclaimed, gently pushing him off her as she sat up. She didn’t look at him directly while she found her robe and pulled it on again, but could sense him watching her. _Appreciatively_ , she let herself think.

Robe in place, she turned to him and tried to smile through her nervousness. From where he sat on the bed, suit still unzipped and hair disheveled, she thought he looked a little nervous too.

“What does your kwami eat?” she asked, pretending she didn’t know the answer.

He made a face and it diffused the tension.

“Cheese, the smellier the better. Though for your sake, just bring something normal. He’ll eat what he’s given and be grateful.”

She smiled and nodded.

“I’ll go grab something, be right back.”

As she pulled the bedroom door closed, she caught a flash of green light from underneath it and her breath caught. Chat was detransformed in her bedroom. She shook her head to push away any thought of the man behind the mask and made her way to the kitchen.

Returning with some slices of gouda and brie, she knocked. The door cracked open and she again felt a rush of emotion as Chat’s _bare_ _arm_ reached around to take the plate, murmuring his thanks.

She returned to the kitchen to make them a snack as well, and when she emerged with two cups of hot chocolate and some cookies, she found him transformed again, sitting somewhat awkwardly on her couch. She took a deep breath and tried to summon her Ladybug bravery, setting the treats on the coffee table and sitting down next to him, curling her body into his. They usually cuddled after sex, this wasn’t weird, right?

She still let out a sigh of relief when he put his arm around her and rested his head on hers. She could feel the rumble of his purr starting up again and smiled.

“Thanks Princess, this is nice.”

She hummed in response, burrowing her head into his neck so she could feel the vibrations in his chest. He still smelled nice, even after sex and cheese.

After a few moments of contented quiet she took her chance.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He stiffened, and his purr stuttered to a stop, much to her regret.

“Talk about what?”

“Whatever is bothering you.”

“I just had amazing sex with a beautiful woman and now I have cuddles and hot chocolate, why would you think anything is bothering me?”

His tone was clearly meant to be lighthearted and dismissive, but she could hear the tension behind it. She sat up so she could meet his eye.

“Because you didn’t come out the last two times I went out as MultiMouse, and I’ve seen the way you’ve been acting with Ladybug lately. It’s as fake as the smile on that model,” she retorted, gesturing to the pile of magazines on the table.

She held his gaze in challenge, and eventually he blinked.

“Fine, but come here first,” he said, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her. “It feels better like this.”

She let herself snuggle into him again and waited.

He swallowed.

“Remember how I told you that all my previous ‘partners’ were dates that I was obligated to go on?”

She stiffened as her blood ran cold.

“Well,” he continued. “An event just got scheduled that will require me to have a date like that. Seeing it on the calendar brought back all those memories, and I felt awful and helpless and… ugh.”

He cut himself off with a deep breath and squeezed her to him before he continued.

“I was trying to just fight the feeling off by acting like everything was fine, but it didn’t really work. And then, today, I saw you on the street... and I immediately felt better." He squeezed her again. "So that’s why I showed up here tonight. I wasn’t sure if you’d go out again since I’d blown you off the last couple of times. I’m sorry about that by the way,” he added.

“Chat, it’s fine, but are-“

“Shh, no, it’s ok, really. I feel SO much better right now. I just... want to thank you for letting me in, letting me be here. Being with you… I don’t really know how to describe it, but it’s like you remind me that I do have some control. That I’m not powerless.”

He paused and swallowed again, turning his head to bury his nose in her hair. She didn’t have any idea what to say, so she settled for wrapping her arms around him and holding him.

“Thank you, Princess,” he murmured. “Being here… it just feels safe. This thing we’re doing, we have, whatever, it really helps me.”

Marinette swallowed a sob at that and squeezed him tighter.

“You are ALWAYS safe here. You are ALWAYS welcome here. No matter what.”

She sat up and wiped away the tears forming in her eyes again.

“And this ‘thing’ we’re doing, it helps me too, I want you to know that. I’ve made incredible progress in my classes since I stopped trying to fight myself over every little thing. And I’ve gotten better at just letting myself _be_ around other people too.” She laughed a little as she thought about it. “I even got over my stupid crush on Adrien and can talk to him like a normal person, if you can believe that, because I’m not over thinking every little thing! And then-“

“You had a crush on Adrien?” he asked, cutting her off.

She blinked at him, perplexed and amused by the confusion on his face.

“You DID know me in lycee right?” she asked. “Don’t you remember?”

“Yeah I knew you, but I never knew you had a crush on Adrien!”

Marinette looked at him incredulously, but he seemed to be sincere.

“You must be the only person in Paris who didn’t know,” she answered flatly. “I think even HE did, but was too nice to say anything when I was making a fool out of myself.”

“Pretty positive he didn’t,” Chat muttered.

“Why?”

“Oh, uh,” he blinked up at her, as if just realizing she would have heard that. “Because anyone who knew that someone as amazing as you had feelings for them would have asked you out immediately, obviously.”

“No way, he had a million girls to choose from, but anyway that’s not the point, the point is that YOU have taught me to let go of trying to control every stupid thing, and now I’ve been able to develop a REAL friendship with him, and with a few other people as well. This ‘thing’ we’re doing, YOU have given me that.”

She could feel the fire in her voice and realized that she had rarely acted like this around Chat as Marinette. He was usually the one in charge, but here she was, sitting on his lap, telling him his worth as if she were wearing her black spots. She looked at him, wondering what he thought of her right now, but he was staring at her with a soft, affectionate look on his face.

He reached out and cupped her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

“Thanks, Marinette,” he said softly. “Thanks for being you. You’ve helped me so much.”

“We’ve helped each other,” she replied, quieter now. “You can always ask me for help, no matter what.”

She saw something shift in his eyes, and he smiled at her. She was pleased to see he actually appeared happy for a moment.

Marinette felt affection, and maybe something stronger, bubbling up in her stomach as she looked at him. Slowly she leaned in, and she saw his eyes widen a tad, but he didn’t stop her. Gently, she pressed her mouth to his, caressing his lower lip cautiously with her own. The butterflies in her stomach intensified as she felt him kiss her back.

She pulled back to assess his feelings on it, and the heat she saw in his eyes fueled her own. She leaned back in to kiss him again, harder this time, wrapping her arms around his neck to hold him closer. He responded with enthusiasm, his tongue tracing along her lower lip again as his tail wrapped itself around her waist.

Marinette had never realized it could feel like this to kiss someone. They had done all kinds of incredibly sexy things with each other, things _he_ had done _to_ her, but nothing could match the level of intimacy she felt right now, while they were both fully clothed. Well, covered at least, though her robe wouldn’t stay closed for long with the way she was pressing herself against him.

With that thought, she reached between them and grasped his bell. She had never undressed HIM before, never caressed his body herself, despite ogling him plenty during their sessions. She wanted to FEEL him. As he pushed her robe back off her shoulder so he could move his attentions to her neck, she pulled on his bell, letting her fingers trail over his firm chest as the zipper gave way. She was surprised to feel the barest softness of hair on his chest, so blond as to be almost invisible, and she pushed his suit open to rub both her hands over it.

Chat, seemingly content to let her lead for now, sat back to watch her as she explored him, trailing her hands over his shoulders and down his stomach. As she drew her fingers along the separations between his _very_ impressive abs, he smirked at her obvious enthrallment.

“Like what you see Princess?” he teased.

She looked back up at him with a smirk of her own.

“Very much, kitty cat. But I like what’s down below even more.”

His eyes darkened at that, and he leaned forward to capture her mouth again, pulling her into him so that she could feel his hardness underneath her. She grasped at his zipper again to finish undoing his suit as he finally pulled the tie of her robe free, her heated skin pressing against his as his now-hard cock rubbed against her pussy, still wet from their earlier romp.

Marinette shifted up on her knees and let herself sink slowly onto his cock, moaning into his mouth as she did so. He grasped her hips and steadied her as she rose up again, pulling back so she could see his face as she rode him. Her beautiful partner panted beneath her, his claws pricking her skin as he gripped her hips firmly.

“Fuck, God Marinette, you feel so good,” he groaned, pressing his head into her neck and biting lightly at the sensitive skin near her shoulder.

She dug her fingers into his hair and held on as he took control, lifting her hips and his in a faster rhythm as he got more worked up.

“God, harder! Oh God Chat!” she panted into his ear, and he growled in response. He changed tactics and moved her in a circular pattern, bringing her forward so her clit rubbed against his washboard abs as he thrust into her, and immediately she felt the coil of heat tightening in her lower abdomen. She whimpered into his ear.

When he bit down on her shoulder again, the coil snapped. She cried out in ecstasy and dug her fingers into his hair, pulling tightly for an anchor as the waves of her orgasm crashed over her. She cried out his name with each thrust as he continued his pace, until finally he tensed up too and pulled her firmly against him, groaning into her neck as she felt him come inside her.

They stayed like that for a few moments, clinging to each other, feeling their heartrates slow as they came down from their highs.

Gently, Marinette pulled back, keeping her fingers buried in Chat’s soft hair. She smiled at the glazed look in his eyes, and leaned in to kiss him softly.

“That was amazing,” she murmured.

“You’re amazing,” was his witty reply.

She laughed and let herself droop into him, savoring the warm security of his arms and the comforting vibrations of his purr.

“You’re an amazing kisser,” he said after a while.

She smiled into his chest, and reached out to lace her fingers through his.

“I’ll kiss you any time you want.”

Marinette felt his purr ratchet up a few notches at that, and closed her eyes, enjoying the time they had before he would have to go.


	7. Chapter 7

Two days later, Marinette was skipping out of another wonderful class and headed toward the coffee shop for her usual meet up with Adrien. He hadn’t been able to come the previous week and she had realized how much she missed seeing him. She grinned to herself as she thought about how far she’d come in their friendship, which she had credited to Chat’s influence on her. There was a lot of friendly banter between them now, and the last time they had had dinner with Alya and Nino, her best friend had pulled her aside and asked if she’d had a stroke for her behavior to have changed so much.

Marinette smiled. No, just a change of heart.

Arriving at the café, she smiled wider to see that Adrien had already arrived and gotten her usual order for her. He waved as she entered, and, gentleman that he was, stood up to greet her with _la_ _bise_ as she took off her coat (though she kept the scarf).

“Before you start giving me crap for the sweater,” he began, plucking at one of the ribbons adorning the black cat on his obnoxiously green sweater, “I have a favor to ask.”

“Oh, I don’t think THAT’S going to work, Agreste,” she said, reaching across the table and flicking the tiny bell on the cat’s santa hat. “Something this horrible must be commented on immediately.”

“I’ll give you free rein to mock me to your heart’s content if you’ll hear me out.”

“Deal,” she smirked, taking a sip of her coffee. “What’s on your mind?”

“Would you go with me to the _Gabriel_ Holiday Gala next month? Pleeeaase?”

She blinked in surprise as he clasped his hands in front of him, grimacing pleadingly.

“You… want me… to go to THE gala? With you?”

“Yes. Would you please?”

“But… why?”

He sat back and rubbed his face with his hands.

“I hate this gala,” he said. “It would be so much more endurable if I could go with someone I actually like, and you love fashion so it’s not totally weird that I would ask you. As a friend, of course!” he added hastily.

She blinked as the familiar phrase hit her unpleasantly, then pushed away the old feeling. She WAS his friend.

“But wouldn’t you rather go with someone more, I don’t know… important?”

He frowned.

“No. You ARE the most important.”

His eyes widened as he realized what he’d said.

“I mean! Sorry! I just mean, I don’t even _like_ most of the people that would be considered ‘important’, and you’re like my best friend, so you’re MY most important person, and…”

He cut himself off and looked away, and she wondered what had him so agitated.

“Adrien?” she began, a little timidly, trying not to focus on the part where he’d called her his most important person. “Are you ok?”

He looked back at her, his eyes a little sad, completely incongruous with his ridiculous sweater.

“Sorry. Just, would you please be my date for this? If only to save me? I hate to ask you THIS way, but I overheard Natalie and my father talking about who I should be bringing this year, and Lila seemed to be topping the list, and I just… CAN’T.” He shuddered.

Marinette shuddered also.

“Oh God why didn’t you just say so?? Of course I’ll go with you, if only to save you from HER! Why on earth would your dad even want her _around??_ ”

He looked up at her with such relief and gratitude in his eyes that she felt badly for even questioning it before.

“Well I’d HOPED you might actually want to go with me _without_ my having to play the sympathy card,” he said, and she was relieved that he was able to tease her a bit. “And I have NO idea why Father wants her, but I thought I might throw up at the thought. Thank you SO MUCH Marinette!” He reached across the table to grab her hand. “It might even be fun with you there! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

To her _immense_ surprise, he punctuated each ‘thank you’ with a kiss to her hand before looking up to smile at her. Her shock must have shown on her face because his smile dropped, and he let go of her hand.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I… got a little carried away.”

She tried to shake off her blush, sorry that she had caused a cloud to cover the sunshine in his expression.

“No, no, it’s fine! I was just surprised! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so… effusive?” She leaned in conspiratorially, determined to make him smile again. “And, dare I say, flirtatious?”

It worked. He lifted his eyes to give her a smirk.

“I’ve been known to be flirtatious!”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you flirt outside of a photo shoot.”

“That’s not true! I flirt!”

“With _who_?”

“With-“ he cut himself off with a frown. “Uh… well. Maybe you’re a little right. I USED to flirt with Ladybug, how about that?”

Marinette blinked. As Ladybug herself, she thought she would have noticed that.

“Uh, when was that?”

“In lycee. And college, really.”

She blinked again. She would DEFINITELY have noticed that. But she couldn’t very well give herself away by calling it out directly.

“Ok, for one, that long ago doesn’t count, so NO, you don’t win that point. And two, I don’t think it’s true anyway, I feel like the press would definitely have written something about Adrien Agreste flirting with Ladybug.”

“Maybe I’m just so terrible at flirting that no one even realized I was doing it.”

Marinette burst out laughing, earning a rueful grin from her friend.

“I’ve seen enough of your “sexy-fall-in-love-with-me” type ads to know that THAT’S not true _either_.”

That earned her another smirk.

“And did they make you fall in love with me?”

“I was-“

She cut herself off. It would probably be awkward to tell him that she had already been in love with him now that she had agreed to be his date. Instead she smiled.

“Along with every other girl in Paris. Which is why I’m surprised you’d have trouble getting a date for this gala, but I’m happy to go with you.”

"The problem isn't getting a date, it's getting a date that I _like._ "

"Oh I see, glad I make the cut," she teased.

She sat back in her chair and grinned as she looked him over again.

“I have to say, there’s a special kind of hilarity to you asking me to the fashion event of the year while you’re dressed like someone’s grandma. How did your dad even let you out of the house like that?”

“Hey!” he exclaimed in mock affront, stroking the cat on his sweater. “I’ll have you know that this cutie is going to win me the lab’s ugly sweater contest, so he’s puuuuuurfect. And Father never saw me, I left at 5am so I wouldn’t have to hear any crap about it.”

Marinette smiled. It was nice to see Adrien participating in normal fun like an ugly sweater contest and punning. And being bold enough to wear an ugly Christmas sweater in public, even if he did sneak out of the house to do it. She supposed it was lucky that the paparazzi found his daily classes too boring for harassment.

“Going back to the gala, do you know the details yet?”

The joy in his face dimmed and she regretted her topic change immediately.

“It’s December 17th, I don’t know the start time yet but sometime in the evening. Formal wear, obviously.”

“Oh. Right!” Marinette was suddenly nervous. “Would I be expected to wear something from _Gabriel_ , since I’m going as your date? Or do I need to find something myself?”

“Oh, uh, I’m not sure, I’ve never asked about that before.”

“Or since I’m a fashion student, would it be expected to wear something I designed myself? But, no, this is a high fashion event, surely they would expect an established name. But I couldn’t pay for something like that!” Marinette could feel herself getting worked up.

A warm hand covering hers brought her back from her impending spiral. Looking up, she met Adrien’s gaze, exuding a calm confidence she didn’t recall seeing in him before.

“No. Wear something you designed. You’re incredibly talented and you deserve to show it off. It’s a month away, so you should have time if you need to tweak something. Let me know if you need materials, since you’re doing this for me.”

She immediately felt calmer.

“Ok. Good. What are you going to wear? I mean, what color should it be?”

He smiled.

“Pink,” he said firmly. “You look amazing in pink. Just tell me if you use accent colors so I can coordinate my tie and pocket square.”

She chuckled, feeling better now that she had been given directions.

“Must be nice to be a guy. A nice black suit and all you have to worry about are the accessories.”

He smiled, and, seeing that she was calmer, let go of her hand. She felt a pang of regret that she immediately squashed.

“Seriously, thanks again Marinette. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

“Oh gosh, attending Paris’ premiere fashion event with one of the world’s hottest models in a dress I get to design myself. You sure owe me one,” she teased. “But really, anything to save you from Lila, ugh.”

They laughed, and passed the rest of the time before Adrien’s lab rehashing every lie they could remember her telling, laughing at the naivete of their friends in believing her back then, and wondering if they’d ever found out it had all been false. It was comfortable and happy, and Marinette felt sure they’d have a good time together at the event. She was glad to be able to help him.

She _almost_ regretted it the next night, however, when Chat had her pinned to the floor, trailing his teeth over her neck, and she had to tell him he couldn’t give her any marks.

“But it’s almost a month away!” he pouted, after she had explained the situation. “And maybe I _want_ you wearing my marks, so pretty boy doesn’t get any ideas.”

He nipped lightly at her neck again to make his point.

“Don’t call him that,” she admonished. “He’s my friend. And my bruises take forever to heal - the paparazzi will spot cover up a mile away. Adrien doesn’t need the press speculating about why his ‘just a friend’ date is sporting hickeys; he gets enough stories made up about him as it is.”

Chat smiled fondly at her.

“That is very thoughtful of you, Princess. I didn’t think about that.”

He dropped his head to her breast, sucking her nipple between his teeth. She hissed with pleasure as he bit down gently.

“Are marks _below_ the chest still allowed? Can I bite you here?” he purred.

“ _Yes,_ ” she whimpered, as he bit again.

He trailed his claws around her hip as he continued to nibble her breasts.

“And can I scratch you here?”

“Yes,” she squeaked.

“Mmmm hmmm,” he murmured, trailing kisses along her stomach as he lowered his head, dragging his teeth along her soft skin.

She was panting in anticipation as he moved between her legs.

“What about here?” he asked innocently.

“ _Yes, please.”_

She yelped and clamped down on his head when he bit down on the delicate skin of her inner thigh. He pried her legs open again, his claws pricking her legs, and gently laved the mark with his tongue.

“I can work with that,” Chat smirked up at her, then, taking pity on her, pressed his tongue firmly against her clit, circling it in exactly the way he knew would make her scream.

A part of her was a bit worried that she’d upset him by agreeing to be Adrien’s date so soon after they’d bumped up the intimacy of their… whatever this was, but those fears were put to rest the following day when she arrived home to find a bolt of incredible flowing pink fabric sitting on her coffee table.

_I spotted this in a shop window and knew it would be perfect for your gown, Princess. The offer to shred it appropriately still stands_.

It was signed with a paw print.

She squealed with glee as she unfolded the fabric, both at the vision of how it would flow around her hips and at the sincere gesture of affection from her adorable partner.

She was really too lucky.

Marinette’s design professor, Madame Melie, had been thrilled to learn that not only was Marinette going to get to go to the Holiday Gala, but she was getting to actually make the dress she had designed to do so. At her request, Marinette had been bringing in photos of the progress she was making, and the professor’s expertise had been invaluable when she found herself running into difficulties working with the luxurious, but unfamiliar fabric.

Finally, it was the end of class on the Friday morning before the event, Marinette was excited to show Madame the pictures of the finished product. Madame, in turn, was positively vibrating when Marinette approached her.

“My dear! How incredible, I have the most amazing opportunity for you!”

She put her arm around Marinette’s shoulders and pulled her away from the rest of the departing students, lowering her voice conspiratorially.

“I have been talking about you to the other professors,” she murmured. “And telling them about your incredible talent. I _believe_ word must have gotten around, because yesterday I received a call from the office of THE Signore Gianno Vianci, who has apparently heard about this dress of yours and wants to meet you!”

Marinette gasped. Sig. Vianci was one of THE top names in formal wear and his brand was one of her top choices for hopefully earning an internship after graduation. This was INCREDIBLE. She hopped from foot to foot to release her excitement.

“Madame, that’s amazing!! Th-thank you so much! What should I bring? When does he want to meet? And where?”

“Well that is the thing my dear. He is only in town for a very short while, and his schedule is completely booked. Apparently, his only availability is tomorrow night. From what his secretary told me, he does not… see eye to eye… with M. Agreste, and so does not attend the gala. However, as all of his associates DO attend, it leaves him free.”

She seemed to sense Marinette’s reaction, and tried to preempt her.

“Now my dear, I know you have been looking forward to this event, but I must say, this is an incredible opportunity! A one-on-one conversation with Sig. Vianci! At the gala you will be dismissed as an opportunist, and you will be one in a sea of hundreds of faces, but at a private meeting, think of the possibilities! You would be able to discuss the actual details of your dress, not have it pass unremarked!”

“But Madame!” Marinette cried, her excitement deflating into distress. “I promised Adrien I would go with him!”

“THE Adrien Agreste will not have any difficulty getting a date at the last moment, my dear! Besides, he will have duties to attend to during the event, so you likely wouldn’t even see much of him! And as he is your friend, he would not want you to pass up an opportunity like this, to discuss your work in depth!” Madame Melie waved her hands dismissively.

That was true, Marinette considered. Adrien had been nothing but supportive of her career in fashion their entire lives, even encouraging her to consider going to New York with Audrey Bourgeois, of all people, when they were young. He would want her to take an opportunity like this if it came along.

But she thought back to his hopeful green eyes, brought out so well by his ludicrous sweater, when he asked her to be his date, and his disgust at the notion of being forced to go with Lila. Well, at least that shouldn’t be an issue. No doubt Lila had already secured a date by this time, but still, who knows who would replace her?

“I’m sorry, Madame,” Marinette looked at the floor. “But I made a promise to a friend, and I can’t let him down. Please let Sig. Vianci’s secretary know that if anything opens up in his schedule, I will be happy to meet with him, but I’m unavailable tomorrow night.”

Madame Melie gave her a sad smile.

“I don’t know whether it is good or bad for you that you are so loyal to your friends,” she said. “The nice ones get eaten in this business. But at least you will look marvelous in the process.”

Marinette left the building with her gut churning, but she knew she had made the right decision. Right? She couldn’t leave Adrien to the wolves like that, and she would still get to show off her dress. But she did feel a tinge of regret that she couldn’t have had both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The good news is that I had to write the next chapter before I posted this one, because they're connected enough that I didn't want to have to go back and edit a posted chapter, so it should be out soon!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something I discovered about myself this week: I'm very motivated by comments and discussion. Apart from all your lovely, enthusiastic comments, I saw someone talking about this fic on twitter and freaked out because holy shit, people like my fic enough to talk about it on a totally different platform?? Gives my ego a boost and extra motivation to edit this chapter and ultimately finish this thing. I did comment thanking them, but I probably look like a bot because I don't actually post on twitter or Tumblr, I just have accounts so I can follow other creators who make beautiful things with these characters that I love so much for some reason. So THANK YOU everyone reading, commenting, and posting memes about it, I love you<3
> 
> Now I'm sorry to say, unfortunately our heroes will not be getting it on in this chapter or the next. Stupid plot getting in the way. But then they'll make up for it, I promise ;-)

“Will you stop fidgeting?” Alya pulled the mascara wand back, looking down at Marinette in exasperation. 

“Sorry! I’m just worried about the time!”

“Well if you don’t hold still it’s going to smudge and then we’ll have to start over, and you DEFINITELY don’t have time for THAT,” she admonished, and Marinette forced herself to relax while Alya leaned back in to finish her makeup

“Aaaaand done!” Alya exclaimed with a flourish, and turned Marinette towards the mirror by her shoulders. “What do you think?”

She thought she looked like a fairy brought to life, in a good way. Her eyes shimmered with silver and pink, which complimented her gown perfectly and contrasted with the deep black mascara Alya had so expertly applied. The lipstick was a deeper pink to bring attention to her lips, but with enough shine to fit in with the look. An elegant updo pulled it all together and kept her from looking too young. But of course, she couldn’t help but second guess herself.

“Thank you soooo much, Alya, it looks really good! But are you sure we shouldn’t go for more of a red lipstick? Is the pink not… sophisticated enough? Oh god, what if they write about how Adrien brought a child to the gala? What if-“

“Girl! You look amazing! What the hell?! You haven’t spiraled around Adrien in MONTHS, don’t lose the script now!”

That gave Marinette pause.

“I’m not spiraling because of _Adrien_ ,” she protested, and realized now that she wasn’t spiraling at all, thanks to her best friend’s distraction. “I’m worried about the _event_. Adrien is about the only part of this I’m comfortable with!”

“Well you’d better _get_ comfortable with it, M, if you want to be a part of this world. Might as well take tonight to chat up some of these people, since you had to turn down that Vivaldi guy.”

Marinette cringed to hear Alya butcher Sig. Vianci’s name, but didn’t bother to correct her. As she scrutinized her appearance once more, fluffing the ruffles in her skirt looking for flaws, her phone buzzed.

“The time for fixating is up, M!” Alya declared cheerfully. “Your prince charming has arrived!”

“Alyaaaa,” Marinette groaned. Alya had never noticed the marks that Marinette had been much better about hiding since Adrien had seen them, so she luckily didn’t have any suspicions regarding her love life. _Unluckily_ , however, that meant she was still trying to push her towards Adrien, citing her improved conversation skills as proof that she was finally ready.

“Fine, you want to be stubborn about it, be that way. But you look amazing, and I can’t wait to see his face when he lays eyes you.”

Frankly, Marinette couldn’t either. It was the main reason she had asked him to wait downstairs. The fluorescent lights in her apartment building hallway would NOT lend themselves to the best first impression, and her vanity wanted to wow him, even if she was just going with him as a friend. Alya, ever the showman, preceded her out the front door and then quickly stepped aside with a flourish and a _tada!_

The look on Adrien’s face when Marinette stepped out the door and into the soft Parisian evening told her that she had succeeded. His eyes widened and she could see him suck in a breath. It did wonders for her ego. She eyed him appreciatively herself, noting how perfectly his tuxedo was tailored to him, and how elegant his hair looked combed back instead of falling to the side.

Alya looked between them and rolled her eyes, giving Marinette a shove forward.

“Yeah, I’m totally right about this. I hope for your sake that you chose sexy panties, M,” she whispered as she pushed her toward the car. “You know you should have let me help you there, right? This little ‘modesty’ phase of yours better not be another excuse!”

Marinette blushed scarlet as her thoughts shifted to the _reason_ she hadn’t let Alya see her undressed - the many, MANY bruises dotting her inner thighs, hips, and breasts, as Chat had sought to make up for his lack of access to her neck over the past weeks.

Alya, misunderstanding her blush, smirked and turned her attention to Adrien.

“Ok, Sunshine! Your beautiful princess is ready for her chariot ride to the ball! And you’d better take care of her there, you understand me? This is her first time in the pit like this, you have to protect her from the snakes.”

If Marinette hadn’t been looking at him, she might have missed it, but Adrien… shifted. His eyes darkened from shy and awed to fiery and bold and his back straightened just a bit. His aura shifted too, from hesitant and uncertain to confident and… protective. It suited him, and it bolstered Marinette’s nerves as well.

“You can count on me, ma’am,” he retorted, giving Alya a cheeky salute. Turning to Marinette, he offered his elbow. “Your highness, may I escort you to your noble steed?”

She snorted and let him help her into the waiting car, waving a sarcastic goodbye to her friend, who was pretending to cry into an invisible handkerchief. 

Adrien, after also giving Alya a laughing goodbye, walked around to the other side and settled into the back of the car beside her, informing his driver that they were ready. Then he turned to her with a sweet smile.

“You look really gorgeous, Marinette. That gown is something special. If I didn’t know you so well, I would never have believed that a student had designed it.”

His eyes traveled over the ruffles, the hints of silvery gray that peeked through the pink satin reflecting in them, and she saw him flex his fingers, apparently without noticing. She was ridiculously pleased that she had gotten the claw-shred so perfect as to inspire that kind of a reaction.

“You clean up pretty well yourself, sir!” she said teasingly, reaching out to thumb his pocket square. “You must have a good intuition for my style to have gotten that gray and pink so perfectly matched.”

When she looked up at him with a smile, she felt her breath catch at the look in his eyes. It was almost… hungry?

He must have seen her surprise because he blinked and sat back a bit, his eyes shifting to his hands in his lap.

“Thanks again for coming with me tonight,” he said quietly, clearing his throat. “I promise to make it worth your while. There will be a lot of big names there, I’ll be sure to introduce you around, let you show off your work.”

She frowned, reaching out for his arm.

“Hey,” she called his attention back to her. “You don’t… _owe_ me for this, you know that right? I’m excited for tonight and really happy to be your date. I only ask that you don’t abandon me for the hotshots, I don’t think my nerves could take it.”

He smiled and covered her hand on his arm with his own. The look was soft, but she could see the protective fire light up in his eyes again. Something about it made her shiver.

“I promise, I won’t leave your side all night. As long as you don’t leave mine, don’t forget my father wanted me to bring Lila, I need protecting as much as you do!”

They both chuckled and passed the rest of the short ride in comfortable silence.

Marinette felt her nerves rise again as they pulled up to the red carpet, and tried to stop her hand from shaking as she reached for the handle.

“No, stop!” Adrien ordered. “Wait, let me.”

He leapt out of the car on his side and jogged around, coming up to open her door for her. His tall body blocked most of the chaos as he opened it, and she focused on his confident smile as she took the hand he offered her. It helped.

As she stood, he stepped to the side and tucked her hand into his arm, and as the blinding light of a million flashbulbs hit it dawned on her. He had just unveiled her to the press in the best possible position, as if she were the A-lister they would all want to see and not him. Stunned, she tried to follow his example as he confidently led her down the gauntlet of reporters, photographers, bloggers, vloggers, and even a hoard of screaming fans, many of them shrieking Adrien’s name. He handled it with grace, waving occasionally in acknowledgement, but mostly keeping them moving with a smile on his face. Only once she had managed to shake herself out of her nervousness and take in more than just the movement of her feet did she notice that the smile was completely fake. She squeezed his elbow in assurance and was pleased to note that it became genuine when he looked down at her. She threw him a wink and a grin, and as they finished the red carpet, she was feeling more confident.

The inside of the ballroom was a sea of beautiful people and more beautiful clothes. Marinette allowed herself a moment of fangirling awe as she took in the incredible, complicated, fascinating designs. Oh no, she didn’t regret coming tonight, if only to be able to see all these gowns and suits up close.

Adrien steered them towards the back, where they found Natalie Sancoeur looking elegant in a sleek black sheath dress, but pale and pinched, her nose still deep in her ever-present tablet.

“Adrien,” she acknowledged, cool as ever. “Your father is completing some work and wants you to mingle and greet the guests before his arrival. Your guest may wait here, or find a refreshment if she wishes.”

Adrien squeezed Marinette’s hand into his side.

“First of all, Natalie,” and Marinette was surprised to hear a trace of a growl in his voice. Natalie must have heard it as well, because she looked up in surprise.

“You and father have both met Marinette several times, so there’s no need to brush her off as ‘my guest’. And second, there won’t be any need for you to worry about her, she’ll come with me.”

With a small bow that might have been sarcastic, Adrien steered both of them back toward the growing crowd. Marinette poked his side as she looked up at him, gleeful incredulity spreading over her face. He blinked away his irritation as he looked down at her and smiled bashfully in response.

“Adrien Agreste!” she hissed teasingly. “Whatever has gotten into you?”

“A grown up,” he retorted. “Why can’t you come meet people? Besides, I said I wouldn’t leave you alone.”

The next half hour was incredibly satisfying for Marinette. Adrien slipped into the role of gracious host easily and introduced her to everyone as their equal. Twice she was asked who had made her gown, and Adrien stepped back to allow her to discuss the intricacies of the design, which she found surprisingly easy to do.

During a small lull, Adrien checked in with her.

“How are you doing?” he asked quietly, his hand steady at the small of her back. “Not too much yet?”

“No, it’s fun!” she beamed at him. “I’ve learned so much in just this short time, I can’t wait to see what the rest of night brings!”

“Lots more shop talk, if you’re up for it,” he assured her, and then his eyes lit up as he spotted someone. “Oh look! Here, I have to introduce you to this gentleman, you’ll _love_ him.”

He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward a shorter portly gentleman who was conversing with a young couple and talking with his hands so emphatically that Marinette feared for his drink. Adrien lay a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

“Gianno, it’s good to see you!” he said charmingly, as the man turned toward them with an affable smile.

“Adrien! My boy!” he cried, pulling the younger man down by his shoulders to kiss both of his cheeks. “I had thought you might have stopped growing at 18, but I can see I was mistaken! You must come model my menswear line! Your shoulders would be perfecto!”

“If you can convince my father, Gianno, I’m all yours,” Adrien teased fondly. “Let me introduce you to my friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Marinette, this is Gianno Vianci.”

Marinette gasped as Gianno’s face lit up with recognition.

“But how wonderful! Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng! I was so disappointed to hear that you weren’t able to meet me, and here we have met after all!”

“Signore Vianci! I am… so sorry! Madame Melie had said that the only time you were available was tonight! And of course… I couldn’t make it,” she finished, glancing at Adrien’s look of surprise and patting his arm.

“It is Gianno, my dear, please. Oh, what a mess! Of course, I could not have met tonight, I am here! But you are too! Madame Melie must have misunderstood, but what luck for us both that it has worked out!”

He grasped her hand and stepped back to admire her gown.

“And THIS! This must be the gown that Madame was describing. How extraordinary! She did not even mention the double layering in the ruffles! You must tell me your inspiration!”

Marinette blinked and stuttered only a few times as she tried to get her feet back under her, but eventually was able to lean on the intimate familiarity of her design and found Sig. Vianci an enthusiastic listener. He was deep into questions about the darting on the bodice when the orchestra went silent, indicating formalities were about to begin.

“Mademoiselle Marinette,” Gianno whispered from her elbow as they were turning their attention to the main stage. “Please, take my card. You must call me in the morning to arrange a meeting. I apologize for the confusion! I should not have asked Mademoiselle Sancoeur to take on this task while she was organizing a gala! I am so glad to have met you by chance!”

“Thank you, Gianno! Shall I arrange it with your secretary?” she whispered back.

“No, no! This is my direct line, it is only me here, my secretary is back home in Florence! I will be very flexible, I know the last year of classes can be very difficult on exceptional students!”

He winked at her and they both turned back toward the front. Marinette slipped the card into her clutch, frowning slightly, feeling as though she had missed something.

She was distracted from her thoughts when Adrien nudged her with his elbow and smiled.

“Told you you’d love him,” he whispered.

“He’s something else,” Marinette whispered back, grinning. “It’s so lucky I met him here!”

“Yeah, imagine how upset you’d have been if you’d tried to take the meeting and found out he was here the whole time! It’s weird that Natalie didn’t just ask _me_ though, instead of trying to set up something formal and getting it all mixed up. She knew I was bringing you.”

Before Marinette could reply, Gabriel Agreste himself had appeared on the stage. Recognizing the rarity of such an occurrence, they both gave him their full attention.

In line with his reputation, Gabriel’s speech was incredibly short, and mingling resumed promptly. True to his word, Adrien didn’t leave Marinette’s side during the first part of the evening, and frequently presented her to people as if she were the star of the show. More than one other person had given her their business card and asked to arrange a meeting, and she was giddy with the praise her gown had drawn.

All that preening came to a screeching halt when the orchestra again struck a note for attention and Adrien turned and asked her if she was ready to dance.

“D-dance?? You never said we would have to dance, at least not as a _performance_! Adrien! I have two left feet, your shoes will be ruined!”

“Hey,” he murmured, grasping her shoulders and making her look at him. She immediately felt calmer as she took in the steady confidence in his eyes. “It’ll be fine, just follow my lead. I’ll take care of you.”

“O-ok,” she whispered, and followed him onto the floor.

She couldn’t help questioning herself though, as the music started and she felt Adrien guide her body into motion, and she looked down at her feet just in time to see them step on his toe. She winced. This was going to be a disaster.

Pressure on her hand brought her attention back to him.

“Keep your eyes on me,” he instructed. “Don’t think about anything else but me, got it?”

Yes, yes, she could do that. Marinette kept her gaze on his bright green eyes, so full of confidence and calm, and let him move her again. With her focus on his face, she found that she could read what he wanted from her, and the movements came more easily, flowed better. It wasn’t perfect – she still didn’t have any training and had no practice dancing in 4-inch stilettos, but it was definitely passable and had the extra advantage of showing off the flow of her gown to the wider audience. As the music stopped and Adrien held her in the last step, she beamed at him.

“That was amazing!” she gushed, and pulled herself up to kiss his cheek. She overbalanced slightly and ended up hitting a bit low, pulling away laughing.

“What was that for?” he asked, looking surprised but pleased.

“All your support tonight. This has been amazing and it’s only half done!”

He beamed back at her.

“I’m glad,” he said softly. After a moment, he seemed to shake himself. “Uh, you’ve been on your feet for a while, do you want something to drink?”

As he turned to look towards the refreshments, she noticed she’d left a smudge of shimmery pink lipstick on his jaw. She smiled.

“Hold on,” she said, reaching out to wipe it away. “I got-“

A loud crash followed by shrieks of surprise cut her off. Adrien tightened his grip and pushed himself in front of her as everyone looked toward the main doors, which had just been torn off their hinges, revealing a tall, green woman with waving vines instead of hair, wearing an enormous silver ball gown and holding a staff with a snake carved into handle. Its eyes were glowing as she looked around the room impressively.

“Ohhhhh AAAAADRIEEEEEEN!!!” the akuma called in a sing-song voice. “Where are you, lover? You know you’re _mine_ tonight!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looooved how many of you commented on the last chapter about Marinette missing out on the meeting without figuring out my (their) nefarious plot (or at least you didn't say anything). Mwua ha ha ha!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sneakily increases the total chapter count*

Marinette peered around Adrien’s shoulder, sizing up the akuma. She seemed to be enjoying being the center of attention for the time being, sneering condescendingly at the crowd. As whispers broke out, she spoke again, reclaiming their attention.

“I am Possession, and you will give me the respect and service that I DESERVE! Where is Adrien Agreste?! He’s supposed to be MINE!”

“ _Lila_ ,” Marinette muttered, synchronously with Adrien.

If Lila was akumatized, they had to get Adrien out of here. Marinette gripped his wrists and started trying to tug him backwards. He let her, but kept himself firmly between herself and the akuma.

“And I want that little hussy too! Mari-nette Du-Pain- _Cheng_!” Possession spat. “She thinks she can steal what’s mine, she thinks she’s better than me, I’ll show HER!”

In front of her, Adrien froze. Marinette had the distinct impression of hackles rising, though he didn’t actually move. She pulled on his wrists again, more insistently, as the akuma focused her attention on the people closest to her.

“Fine! If they won’t come out on their own, I will BRING them out! YOU!” She brandished her staff at three guests who had been pressing away from her and the snake’s eyes glowed red. The people froze, then stepped forward and bowed.

“How may I serve you, mademoiselle?” they chanted in unison.

“Bring Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng to me!” she commanded importantly. “And Gabriel Agreste while you’re at it! He thinks he can break his promises, does he? He’ll regret it! You’ll ALL regret it!”

She aimed her staff at a few more people, and the circle around her grew.

Adrien shuffled backwards through the panicking crowd, pushing Marinette behind him.

“Adrien!” she hissed. “What are you doing?”

“Getting you somewhere safe!” he muttered back, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Here!”

They had bumped into a refreshments table, which was covered with a long tablecloth that draped to the floor and was buffered on either side by large decorative plants.

“Get under here!” Adrien hissed, lifting the cloth slightly and pushing her down. “I’ll distract her!”

Marinette grabbed his wrist.

“Are you crazy?! She’s after you! You have to hide too!”

“I can take care of myself,” he muttered, glaring at her with a look that might have made her quail if she’d been anyone else. “I have to make sure YOU’RE safe! Stay here and _hide!_ ”

He wrenched his wrist from her grip and immediately pushed himself away from the table, no longer trying to be discreet as he began shoving his way through the crowd.

“ _Adrien!_ ” Marinette tried to call after him without drawing attention, but he ignored her. It wasn’t long before she heard a cry go up and knew he’d been spotted by a possessed lackey.

“ _Fuck!_ ” she muttered to herself.

Well, the best way to help him was probably to get rid of this akuma. She looked behind her and saw that the table she was hiding under was backed against a large window. The main pane was inoperable, but perhaps there was an air vent…

“Yes!” she whispered to herself, finding a small crank window hidden behind the large plant to her right. She opened it as much as she could, and then kicked it firmly to break the latch mechanisms that kept it from swinging freely. It wasn’t very big, but then neither was she, and she found she could squeeze through. She spared a passing moment to lament her dress as it caught on the window latch, then pushed that thought aside. She had a job to do.

Standing up on the patio outside the window, Marinette got her bearings. She needed to get away from the large windows before she could transform, so she took off into the garden that abutted the hall.

Marinette quickly found that she wasn’t the first partygoer to seek refuge in the winding paths, and while she was glad that not being the only person running away gave her some cover, it unfortunately took her a while to find a spot secluded enough to transform.

Cursing the delay, Ladybug launched herself to the roof of the hall, looking around to see if Chat Noir had gotten a handle on things yet.

To her surprise, she found she was still alone. She pulled out her yo-yo to see if she could get a hold of him, but before she could place the call she heard the thump of him landing beside her.

“Little late, kitty cat,” she said, turning. “Looks like- hey, you ok?”

The man standing next to her was dressed like Chat Noir, but the look on his face bore no resemblance to her jokester of a partner. His jaw was set so tight that she thought it might be locked in place, and even though he wasn’t frowning, there was a tightness around his brow and eyes that was somehow worse. His posture was rigid, but his tail was alternating between lashing about furiously and wrapping itself around his ankle. He was staring over the roof at the escaping attendees, but even from the side she could see the agitated fury burning in his eyes.

“Fine, Ladybug,” he said firmly, and she noted the absence of a nickname. “The akuma is Lila Rossi, and she’s after Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She seems to think that Adrien owed it to her to be her date tonight, so she’s out to get him and get revenge on the girl that was his actual date.”

Ladybug stared.

“And… how do you know that? You only just got here.”

She regretted asking as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

“I was at the party,” he replied with no hesitation.

Ladybug’s eyes widened.

“Chat! You can’t TELL me things like that! We aren’t supposed to know _anything_ about each other’s iden… ti… ties,” she trailed off as he turned to face her, but his glare, terrifying though it was, wasn’t what had distracted her.

No, it was that on his jaw, standing out softly against the black of his costume, was a smudge of shimmery pink lipstick.

His furious justification was muffled by the roaring that started in her ears as her eyes remained fixed on that innocent, damning mark that _she_ had left on _Adrien’s_ cheek.

Everything she knew about Chat and everything she knew about Adrien blended together to form one cohesive, gorgeous blond man who was presently snarling at her lack of focus.

 _Oh no no no no no no no!_ she thought desperately.

“-CARE about identities, there are people in danger, and this is the fastest way to get you up to speed. We have a duty to help them! Are you even LISTENING to me?” he demanded.

Ladybug wrenched her eyes from his cheek and met his gaze. She forced herself not to shriek as she recognized the green of his eyes.

“I-if you were at the party, why were you later than me getting here?”

“I-it took me a while to es- to find a place to transform,” he muttered, his eyes darting behind them, tracing the way he had come.

Ladybug narrowed hers.

 _Fuck!_ she thought to herself.

“Fine. Rossi. Agreste and Dupain-Cheng.” She forced herself to act professional. “Any idea where the akuma is?”

“No, I wasn’t able to get that close of a look at her.” He looked away, tail swishing rapidly.

“Then we have to go in quietly, get a sense of what she’s doing.”

“Got it. The windows are vented at the top for airflow, we should be able to slip in there.”

She didn’t comment on his knowledge of the venue, but nodded in understanding and he immediately launched himself over the side of the roof.

Ladybug watched him go, and once he was out of sight she dropped into a crouch and clutched her head in her hands.

“ _Fuuuuuuuuuck!”_ she screamed quietly at herself, grabbing her pigtails in frustration. “FUCK!”

She stood up and took a deep breath. Ok. Now was not the time to freak out. Now was the time to get this akuma cleansed so she could go freak out at home. And then talk to her partner. Who was her lover. Who was her friend.

_NOT THE TIME, MARINETTE!_

She shook her head and flung herself off the roof, squeezing through an open vent below her, just as Chat had said. She spotted him several meters away, holding on to a different window frame, his eyes scanning the room as though searching. She couldn’t help but notice that they drifted to the overturned drink table rather frequently.

At least _she_ didn’t have to worry about where _Adrien_ was.

... _Fuck!_

In the center of the dance floor, Possession had her minions idle, watching enraptured, as she focused on… Natalie, who was twisted in the vines from the akuma’s head, but not enchanted yet. Ladybug scanned the akuma’s costume rapidly to see what the object could be.

“Where. Is. GABRIEL?!”

“M. Agreste had to leave early, he is not here!” Natalie replied, sounding more exasperated than afraid.

“You couldn’t keep control of Adrien, I want him to account for it!” Possession shrieked. “I didn’t get your fabric shipment through Italian customs so he could come to this gala with that no-class gold digger!”

Ladybug froze, turning her attention to what Possession was saying.

“There were circumstances beyond our control,” Natalie answered wearily.

“You told me that that hussy was going to cancel! You told me that I would get my night with Adrien! Adrien was supposed to be _mine_ for tonight! It’s _my turn!_ ”

Ladybug’s stomach twisted violently as she realized the implications of Possession’s rant. She looked over at Chat and found him frozen in the shadows of the ceiling, eyes now fixed on the scene before him. She couldn’t see his face clearly from this distance, but from his body language, this wasn’t something he’d been privy to.

 _Oh god,_ Ladybug thought to herself. _This is going to destroy him._

She shook herself again. Akuma first, everything else later. She returned to scanning Possession’s costume as she continued to berate Natalie, then held her staff to her minions, the snake’s eyes flashing as she commanded them to find Gabriel and bring him to her. It had to be there.

She quietly crept over to Chat who hadn’t moved from his position, his eyes still fixed on Possession and Natalie. Ladybug’s heart broke as she looked at his face, no longer tight with anxious aggression, but a flat emotionless mask. She had to grab his arm to get his attention.

“I think the akuma is in her staff, we need a distraction so we can get it away from her.”

“Distraction, yeah,” he muttered vaguely, turning his hollow eyes back towards the akuma.

Ladybug swallowed hard.

“Chat,” she said softly, hating herself a little for her next words. “We have to get the staff away from her. So she can’t send any more minions after Adrien and Marinette.”

As she expected, at the sound of Marinette’s name, Chat seemed to come back to himself. He blinked several times and she saw the fire reignite in his eyes, and when he looked at her again, there was determination in them.

“Right. Distract her. What’s the plan, my lady?”

“She hasn’t seen us yet, so you slip back out and come in through those doors over there,” she muttered, indicating the service doors on the far side of the room. To her surprise, Chat winced.

“Uh, I’d actually prefer to come in from the windows again.”

“What? Why?”

“I, um, my civilian-self escaped through those doors, I don’t know who might have seen me, I don’t want to come back as Chat the same way.”

“Clever kitty, the windows then, as long as it’s on that side, and loud. Draw as many of her minions as you can. I’ll come back in on this side and sneak up on her, and hopefully we can make this quick.”

“On it,” he assured her, as he climbed back out the window vent, not sparing another glance at the still-shrieking akuma or Natalie.

Ladybug followed him to the roof and they separated, him dashing toward the back of the building, her dropping down toward the front. As she landed, she called for her Lucky Charm. A pitchfork landed in her hands. Well, this one was more straightforward than usual, she supposed.

Slipping quietly in the broken front doors, she waiting to hear Possession’s shriek of rage as Chat made his appearance on the far side of the room.

“You’re nothing but a mangy house cat, and you won’t keep me from getting what I deserve!”

As she waved her staff to command her minions, Ladybug noted with satisfaction that she sent every last one of them after her partner. For someone as manipulative as she was, Lila was astoundingly oblivious to anyone _else’s_ plans.

Ladybug slipped in quickly, not wanting to waste a moment of Chat’s effort. The vines trailing off the back of Possession’s head were easy pinned to the ground with her pitchfork without anyone noticing, and Ladybug was able to get right up to the side of the stage before it occurred to Possession to look around.

“You!” she screeched when she spotted her. “Why do you _always_ have to ruin _everything??_ I’ll have your miraculous for myself too!”

Possession brandished her staff, but Ladybug launched herself out of the way and sent her yo-yo around Possession’s leg while she moved, yanking her to the floor. Ladybug was far more experienced in combat that Lila, and she sprang to her feet before Possession even realized she had fallen. In a second, Ladybug had kicked the staff from her grip and punted it through the air to her waiting partner, and when the akuma tried to launch herself after it, she found herself held in place by the pitchfork in her vines.

It was over in less than 3 minutes. Staff broken, butterfly freed, minions released, akuma purified, and Lila, on the floor in an admittedly-stunning emerald green mermaid gown, glaring at Ladybug with all the hatred she had within her as the police arrived to clean up.

Ladybug couldn’t bring herself to care about Lila’s disappointment, not after what she’d heard. Looking around, she spotted Chat making his escape back out through the upper windows rather than joining her in their customary fist bump. She grimaced as she thought about her poor kitty, the weight of what they’d learned hitting her like a truck.

_FUCK!!_

Officer Raincomprix, noting that Ladybug’s earrings weren’t beeping yet, asked her if she wouldn’t mind giving a statement. Feeling like it would be better for everyone if there were a record of the events, she agreed, feeling a little sick as she recounted Possession’s demands. While she was speaking, she saw movement from the back of the room, and her heart leapt into her throat as she saw Adrien emerging from the service hallway.

Marinette had never before thought that Adrien resembled his father, but the cold, emotionless mask on his face as he approached the scene made chills run down her spine in its familiarity. Their eyes met briefly, but he didn’t acknowledge her beyond that, passing her by to approach Natalie.

Officer Raincomprix was speaking to her, but Ladybug was paying him no attention anymore, focusing instead on her friend and partner.

“Natalie,” he began, and his voice was cold enough to take Ladybug’s breath away. “Where is father?”

Natalie seemed to struggle with herself for a moment, before donning her professional veneer again.

“Your father had to leave the event shortly after his speech, Adrien.”

“I would like to speak with him.”

“That won’t be possible, I’m afraid.”

Adrien held her gaze for a long while, his terrible mask firmly in place. Finally, he spoke again.

“I suppose it’s fitting that our relationship should end the way it’s been lived the past 8 years. Through you. You may tell him that I resign from all my positions within _Gabriel_ , that I will accept whatever severance you and my lawyer agree is reasonable to keep me from pressing charges, and that I never want to speak to either of you ever again. I will come by tomorrow morning to collect my things, probably with a police escort.”

He turned to Officer Raincomprix in question, who nodded his assent. Adrien nodded in return, then turned back to Natalie.

“Where is Marinette?”

Natalie cleared her throat. “I haven’t seen her.”

Adrien stared at her, the cold look so out of place on his beautiful face. When he spoke again, the threat in his voice was audible.

“It was deliberate, wasn’t it? The ‘mix up’ with Gianni. You deliberately tried to set up a fake meeting to get her to cancel on me. I recognize why you wanted _me_ , but why set _her_ up for misery like that? Why not organize some _real_ meeting? You have enough connections.”

Natalie met his gaze, perhaps blinking rather more rapidly than normal, but remained silent.

After a few tense moments, Adrien turned his back on her, looking instead to Lila, who had been sitting on the step of the stage glaring at everyone.

“Lila,” he acknowledged, his voice as cold as ever. “Where is Marinette?”

Lila’s lip curled up in a snarl at the name.

“I have no idea, but if I did I’d rip that little poser’s eyes out! And yours, for humiliating me like this!” she shrieked, standing abruptly, apparently unable to keep a lid on her temper any further. The officer standing near her put his hand on her arm to restrain her.

Adrien didn’t react, glaring at her coldly before he turned back to Officer Raincomprix and Ladybug.

“Officer, please note that threat against Ms. Dupain-Cheng. I expect there will be some orders of protection coming from both her and myself, and I’d like to have everything neatly accounted for.”

As Officer Raincomprix nodded mutely and turned back to Ladybug, seeking more details, Adrien turned his back on all of them and strode out of the hall.

Ladybug watched him go, answering the officer’s questions with as much information as she could remember without taking her eyes off the tall, straight back of her partner as he walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, since the beginning I've had a plan for how to wrap this up, which includes one more long chapter and then an epilogue. But as I was editing this I had a new idea, which would be a whole lot more angsty than what I've got planned but would set the stage for a 3rd part in the series. So it's the difference between fluff and angst. My body of work is like 80% fluff (and 10% smut, with only 10% angst lol), because I always want these babies to have a happily ever after. But I'm torn. Guess we'll ALL just have to wait and see what wins out!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait. You all are so awesome. Just so you know, any fic of mine that involves the love square is going to have a happy ending, even if they have to go through drama to get there. I'm a hopeless romantic, these sweethearts will always end up together.
> 
> So here's what I decided to do: below you will find the fluffy smutty ending I had originally intended. It's long, sorry, but there really wasn't a way to split it up. Then there will be a "happily ever after" epilogue soon. It took me like 6 months to start writing this sequel to Mouse Hunt, and I don't want to leave you all without a happy ending for that long. 
> 
> I have also made a start on the more angsty alternate ending, and I will post that as a separate fic that will become the 3rd part whenever I DO get around to writing it. I'll put a link to it at the end of this one too.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

Ladybug launched herself to the roof of the hall, then took a deep breath and slumped against the low wall along the edge. She dropped her transformation, handed Tikki a cookie, and then buried her head in her arms.

Adrien’s dad had been pimping him out for favors. She felt nauseous thinking about it. Of course, in these circles, it was probably called _networking_ or something, but the look on Adrien's face when he’d heard Possession’s rant had made it perfectly clear that he hadn’t been in the know.

Chat’s face, that is. The look on _Chat’s_ face. Because Adrien is Chat Noir, and he had heard everything, and his father didn’t even have the decency to show up at the end and talk to him about it.

And then, there was the fact that Chat Noir was _Adrien_. _Adrien_ had been visiting her, chasing her… _fucking_ her… since the very beginning. She wanted to be angry about the deceit, but she couldn’t seem to manage it. After all, she was the one who had insisted she wanted Chat when he pointed out she didn’t know who he was. Plus, there was the matter of her own deception in developing a relationship, if that’s what you could call it, with Chat without telling him she was Ladybug.

“Are you ok, Marinette?” Tikki’s sweet voice reached her through spiraling thoughts.

“Not really, no,” she answered from inside her arm-cave before emerging to rest her head on her knees. “But I’ll get over it soon enough. I’m more worried about Adrien. I need to find him.”

Tikki swallowed and took another bite.

“I’m eating as fast as I can, then we can go.”

Marinette nodded glumly and let herself wallow for a few more moments. As Tikki finally indicated her readiness, Marinette steeled herself with a deep breath.

“Tikki, spots on!”

Ladybug relished the power that washed over her, it gave her some confidence that she might actually be able to help Adrien. Chat Noir. Adrien.

She took another deep breath.

Now there was the matter of determining where he might have gone. She thought he would most likely have taken off as Chat Noir, as it was easier to escape from people when you could vault buildings. She pulled out her yo-yo to check, and sure enough, there was Chat’s locator, placing him next to a very familiar building.

_Fuck._

As Ladybug neared her own apartment, she could see the black shadow of her partner pacing on the roof of the building across the street, pausing for a bit, then resuming pacing again. Once she got closer, she could see that his pauses were being used to place a call on his baton, glaring at her darkened windows as he did so.

As she landed behind him, he whirled around, and she could see the fear clouding his eyes.

At least it was better than the terrible emotionless mask he had been wearing earlier.

“Ladybug! Have you seen Marinette? The akuma was after her and I didn’t see her in the crowd, but I haven’t been able to find her!”

He stopped pacing again, agitatedly punching at his baton, and then throwing it away in frustration when his call was met with silence.

“Calm down, kitty,” Ladybug said soothingly. “Marinette is fine.”

He always trusted her, she noted, as his tension visibly lessened, but he didn’t stop staring at her window.

“How do you know? Did you see her? Where is she?”

“I’ll tell you, Chat, but-”

“I promised to protect her, and I had to leave, and now she’s not answering her _phone!_ ” he resumed pacing and clutched at his hair, apparently unaware that he might have said anything incriminating.

“Chat, we need to get off this roof before someone sees us. It won’t do Marinette any favors if we appear to be paying her special _attention_.”

Chat stopped pacing again and glanced askew at her, his cheeks flushing slightly.

“Ahh, right.” He turned his attention to her, but wouldn’t meet her eye. “Ladybug, there’s something you should know…”

“I know about your… whatever it is… with Marinette, Chat. That’s partly my point. Let’s go.”

Chat blushed deeper, but nodded. He balked, however, as she lashed her yo-yo onto the railing of the false balcony at her own window.

“Ladybug!” he hissed as she launched herself across the way and pulled open her window. She looked back at him, cocking an eyebrow in an invitation to follow, and took a small amount of pleasure at being able to pay him back for his own ill-advised dash away from her at the gala.

Nonetheless, he followed her into the dark apartment, protesting all the way.

“Ladybug, Marinette isn’t home!”

“I know, Chat,” she replied calmly.

“We can’t just barge into her apartment!”

“Chat, it’s fine”

“It’s not! Because- there are boundaries!” he burst out, pacing agitatedly around her small living room. “There are boundaries, and barging into her apartment uninvited is crossing a boundary!”

“Adrien,” Ladybug said firmly, facing him directly. “Calm down.”

It had the desired effect. Chat froze. His eyes widened comically, and his jaw slackened. She forced herself to meet his eyes. Finally, as hers were starting to water, he blinked.

“H-how-“ he whispered, swallowing. “How long have you known?

“About 90 minutes, Chat,” she answered quietly, walking up to him slowly. He didn’t move as she reached up to cup his cheek, letting her thumb ghost over the remains of the lipstick mark, now only visible as a smudge of shimmer. “When you landed on the roof next to me and all I could see was a little pink lipstick mark that **_I_** had left on _Adrien’s_ cheek.”

“That… you?… what?” he muttered, clearly fighting to put the pieces together as he placed his hand over hers on his face.

“Tikki, spots off,” she whispered, and felt the flexible power of her suit give way to the flowing satin of her gown. She saw his eyes widen in surprise as she spoke her detransformation phrase, then freeze as he saw her face. His hand tightened over hers.

“M-Marinette!” he stammered. “Y-you! It’s… you’re…”

“I know. I know, kitty. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you,” she whispered, stroking his cheek with her thumb.

She took a deep breath, bracing for his reaction. He stared at her like he’d never seen her before, a slight frown growing on his brow.

Then he pounced.

Before she could even process his movement, he had backed her up and pressed her against the living room wall. She didn’t even register having moved her feet until his hands gripped her head and back tightly as he kissed her desperately. His lips coaxed hers open and his claws tangled in her hair, pulling tresses loose from her chignon before she caught up enough to respond in kind.

“I- was so- _worried-_ about you!” he accused fiercely between bruising kisses. “I was _terrified-_ and you- were- NEXT to me- the whole- time!”

“I’m sorry,” she gasped. “I’m so sorry! I couldn’t- tell you!”

He paused in his onslaught to meet her eyes momentarily.

“I know. God, it’s _you!”_

Chat kissed her again and pressed his body firmly against her, pinning her solidly against the wall, and she struggled to press back. Instead she wrapped her leg around his, trying to coax him closer, and moaned as she felt his hardening cock against her. She tangled her hands in his hair, trying to pull herself onto him. He hoisted her thigh up around his hip, pulling the skirt of her gown up to pool around her hips. Reaching around to grip her ass, he pulled her up entirely and she wrapped her legs around his waist, the ruffles of her gown tickling her inner thigh.

She moaned into his mouth as he pressed his hips forward and his bulge pressed against her center. The sound seemed to spur him on, and he relinquished her lips to press open-mouthed kisses to her neck. She tightened her fingers in his hair.

“Do- do you want to detransform?” she panted.

Chat pulled back to look at her. As he studied her face, apparently considering her question, she thought he’d never looked more gorgeous. His green eyes seemed darker and his lower lip was slightly swollen from his attentions to her mouth. She was overcome with the urge to bite it, and leaned forward to do just that, distracting him into another searing kiss.

After a moment, he smirked against her mouth.

“No, I’m not going to destransform just yet.”

He released her lips and she felt his hot breath on her neck before his teeth scraped against her delicate skin. He shifted her weight and slipped one arm between them, pulling the layers of her dress aside so he could stroke her over her silky panties. She gasped and let her head drop against the wall to give him better access to her neck.

“You scared me,” he accused again. “I want to _know_ you’re alright. I want you again as Chat, and I want to put every mark on your perfect skin that I had to hold back the last few weeks.”

He leaned up and sucked her earlobe into his mouth, biting gently around her earring before murmuring in her ear. “And _then_ I’ll detransform, and Adrien will kiss every bruise better. But maybe, if you’re good, leave some more.”

Marinette shuddered at the promise, at the feel and sound of his breath in her ear, at the feel of his weight against her. She reached up and grasped his bell.

“Then get to it, kitty-cat.”

He growled, and bit down on her shoulder as she pulled his zipper all the way open.

“You’re so gorgeous, Mari,” he muttered as he continued to stroke her. “I can feel you getting wetter already, I want you just like this.”

He hooked her panties aside and let the head of his cock rub against her pussy.

“Oh, God!” Marinette cried at the hard heat of it against her.

“Do you want this, Princess?” he purred.

“ _Yes._ Please, Chat!”

“Please what?”

“Please fuck me!”

She felt him smile against her skin.

“At your service. My Lady,” he added with a smirk.

He lifted her slightly to line himself up and thrust into her smoothly and she gasped, the initial sensation of his large cock filling her up making her breath catch. He echoed her moan with his own.

She held on to his shoulders and gripped his hips with her legs, but was mostly dependent on him to hold her up as he found a rhythm, pulling her away and then closer as he thrust into her repeatedly, drawing gasping moans from her throat. It dawned on her that this was the mirror image of their first time together, the same wall and everything.

The same, except for how she felt about him.

Emotion blended with her pleasure, and she tugged his head back from her neck by his hair. Chat paused his rhythm, still sheathed inside her, and looked at her in question. Rather than say anything, she grasped his face with both hands and pulled herself in to crush her lips to his.

Chat growled into her mouth. He took control and pressed her lips open with his tongue, biting down on her lower lip with his sharp teeth as he resumed driving his cock into her, harder than before. The friction of her panties moving against her clit with each thrust was tightening the coil of pleasure in her core, and soon she felt herself nearing the edge.

“Ch-chat! Chat! I’m, I’m gonna…” she babbled against his mouth.

As the first wave of her orgasm hit her, she threw her head back against the wall, crying out loudly, growing louder as he bit down on her shoulder again, his own rhythm faltering as he grunted and gasped through his own release.

After a few moments the spasms subsided and they both stilled, panting slightly, Chat holding her up with his cock still buried inside her. He leaned back to look at her again, smiling softly. She giggled lightly in response, her panting subsiding, and ran her fingers through his hair. He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, then gently let her legs down to the floor, her arms still around his neck. He leaned down to kiss her again, more gently this time, and then swooped her up in his arms.

“Whoa! What are you doing?” she squawked in surprise.

“Treating you like the princess you are,” he replied, giving her another soft smile, but with a hint of mischief in it this time.

Chat carried her to her bedroom, and she giggled again as he awkwardly angled them both so he wouldn’t bump her head on the doorframe. He gave her a playful glare and lay her down on her soft comforter. Climbing on to the bed himself to hover over her, he bent down to kiss her again softly, smiling fondly at her.

“Plagg, claws in,” he murmured.

The flash of green light that passed over his body was bright, but Marinette didn’t let her eyes close for a moment.

Then the beautiful face of Adrien Agreste was above her, his tuxedo and hair looking rather mussed. A rather shy expression replaced Chat Noir’s trademarked grin.

“Wow,” she breathed. “You were right.”

“About what?”

“It’s one thing to _know_ it’s you, but actually seeing you transform feels different,” she quoted him, running her hands over his shoulders.

The grin peeked out again.

“Is that ok?” he quoted her.

She smiled.

“Better than ok. This is all my teenage fantasies come to life,” she teased, pulling him down to kiss him again. “I had the most massive crush on you when we were in school.”

She felt him smirk against her mouth.

“I know. You told me.”

Marinette paused, blinking at him in confusion.

“I… told you?” Then her eyes widened in understanding. “Oh my God! I TOLD you! I told _YOU!_ ”

He didn’t resist as she shoved him off her, laughing as he dropped to the bed beside her.

“You let me blather on about you!”

“I didn’t MEAN to!” he laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners in mirth. “I couldn’t very well TELL you!”

“And then you asked me to the gala the next day!” She threw a pillow at him, which he caught, grinning at her, and she had another epiphany.

“Oh my GOD! When you said you used to flirt with Ladybug, you meant as _Chat!_ ”

“Ha! Oh God! Well, in my defense, I didn’t expect you to have inside information!” he exclaimed, his own realization dawning.

She threw another pillow at him, and then softened, studying his laughing face.

“You seem…. A lot better than I would have expected.”

His grin faded. “You mean because of my father?”

“Yeah.” She lay back down on her side, looking at him. She was sorry to have spoiled the mood, but it would probably be better to talk about it.

He faced her as well, reaching out to grab her hand.

“Honestly? I wasn’t even all that surprised. We’ve barely had a conversation in months, it’s not exactly a shock to find out that all I am to him is an asset.”

A flash of anger passed across his face and she squeezed his hand.

“But really, on some level I knew that already. I was _mostly_ angry that he’d gone after you. I don’t even know why, except maybe he’s just enjoys being cruel.”

He released her hand to stroke her skin gently along her arm, letting his fingers trail around the bone of her shoulder and trace the marks, faint pink with the promise of darkening, that he’d left on her shoulder and neck. She shrugged.

“Maybe he thought I’d get really upset and get akumatized and come after you. Then he could claim I was unstable and not fit to be around you or something.”

“Ironic, then, that he wanted Lila.”

Marinette hummed in agreement and they fell silent for a moment. She watched as Adrien’s face progressed through several waves of emotions, beginning with a contemplative frown, then moving through anger and sadness, and then softening into something she couldn’t quite read. He looked back at her.

“You know, I have to tell you. Sure, it kind of sucks to have _confirmation_ that my father is a sociopath that doesn’t care about me, but it’s really not affecting me all that much. I don’t think that would have been the case 6 months ago, I think I would have been a wreck." He swallowed, and when he continued, his voice was raspy. "I meant what I said as Chat, I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. I think, just knowing that I have agency here is what’s keeping me from freaking out.”

“You have me, too.”

She reached out to stroke his face, and after a moment he collected her hand and pressed a kiss to her fingers.

“I know, I’m so grateful. That you want Adrien as well as Chat.”

“And here I thought I’d gotten over you,” she teased, and felt his mood lighten.

“It’s the Chat Noir charisma,” he retorted, waggling his eyebrows. “It’s impossible to resist.”

She hit him with a pillow again.

“I guess I ought to put Mullo’s necklace away,” she mumbled vaguely after a moment.

“What? No!” he half sat up, looking at her in alarm. She blinked back at him, surprised.

“Why? I can just call you now.”

“But…” he looked like he was struggling to decide what to say.

“What?”

He gave her a pitiful look.

“Will you really not let me chase you anymore?”

She blinked again, then burst out laughing and pressed her face into the comforter. When she turned back to look at him again, still giggling, he was looking at her sheepishly.

“I reaaaaally love chasing Multimouse,” he pouted.

“Oh kitty,” she continued to giggle, then leaned up to kiss the corner of his mouth before whispering, “I love it too.”

He smiled.

“So you’ll keep him?”

“It’s not very responsible of a guardian,” she groaned. “But yes, I’ll keep him. I guess I can’t keep a cat from catching his mouse.”

A saucy look entered his green eyes.

“You know, if you wanted to make _my_ teenage fantasies come true, you’d let me catch Ladybug.”

She gave him a saucy look back.

“I think Ladybug could take Adrien.”

His green eyes darkened as she watched.

“But could Ladybug take Chat Noir?”

“That’s a bout I’d love to see.”

“Do you have voyeur tendencies, Mari?”

“What voyeurism? I just think it would be a fair fight. Unless Chat used his claws.”

“Speaking of…” he trailed his eyes over her body, and she became aware of how her position was allowing her breasts to almost fall out of her gown, the skirt gathering around her calves in a puff of tulle and ruffles. She swallowed.

“You look so beautiful tonight,” he continued. “I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t Chat, and I was kicking myself in the car for suggesting you wear pink, because all I wanted to do the whole trip was rip it off of you.”

“You still can.”

He looked back up at her.

“No, I’d rather take my time.”

Adrien pushed himself up and off the bed, then reached out for her hand to help her up as well. When she stood, there was barely an inch between them, and Marinette’s heart started racing.

“Turn around,” he ordered, and she did so.

His fingertips brushed her neck again before digging into her hair, finding the bobby pins that were still holding it up despite his earlier attack. One by one they dropped to the floor, until finally she felt the last loosen and her black tresses fell around her shoulders. Adrien brushed them aside to give him access to her neck, planting a gentle kiss to the sensitive skin at the base. Marinette gasped.

“I did say I’d kiss them better, didn’t I?” Adrien murmured into her skin, tracing the bruises, his hot breath making her shiver.

He reached up and grasped the zipper of her dress, opening it to expose her full back as he continued to lavish attention on her shoulders.

“I feel like I should appreciate this the way you always do when I unzip my suit,” he teased, and it broke the tension. Marinette let her head drop back against his shoulder as she laughed.

“It _is_ one of my favorite moments,” she replied, then turned around. “I don’t see why undressing Adrien Agreste should be any less appealing, though.”

As dashing as he looked in his tux, now she just wanted to be rid of it. He kept his gaze on her as she unbuttoned the jacket and slid it off him with no fanfare, and then deftly untied the bowtie at his neck and tossed it aside. She could feel him smirk as she worked on the buttons of his vest and then his shirt cuffs, though she didn’t meet his eyes.

Finally, she unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his shoulders, letting her hands trail over the muscles of his arms and then back to the fine downy hair on his chest. Just like she had with Chat.

“My eyes are up here, Princess.” Adrien hooked his finger under her chin to bring her face up. His expression turned from teasing to hungry to emotional as she watched and she swallowed.

He held her gaze for a few moments, letting his thumb gently stroke her chin and jaw, and the tension between them grew again.

“Marinette,” he began, whispering now. “Somewhere in the middle of all this I fell in love with you.”

She felt a wave of emotion at his unexpected confession, and quickly blinked to quell the tears forming in her eyes. She covered his hand with her own.

“Adrien, kitty. I love you too.”

The soft, radient smile he gifted her could have melted even Hawkmoth’s heart. He bent his head to kiss her, gently at first, but quickly turning heated. He tangled his fingers into her loose hair and tilted her head to give himself a better angle. Marinette felt her dress slipping off her own shoulders and let it, allowing one breast to fall free as she pressed her body into him.

The sensation of his skin against hers made her gasp into his mouth, and he seemed to feel the same because he promptly pulled back enough to tug the strap off her other shoulder. She wanted to feel self-conscious as he watched the gown fall away to expose her bare form, but the obvious appreciation in his gaze just made her feel beautiful.

His eyes landed on her silky white panties and he grinned.

“These are nice,” he observed, stroking his hand over the thin material at her hips and backside. “Special occasion?”

The tension broke again.

“Oh my god your Chat is showing,” she smacked his chest. “And I’m glad you noticed, Alya will be thrilled.”

“Was she playing matchmaker again?” he asked, moving back in to her neck, letting his hands roam over her bare back and down to squeeze her ass.

“Yes,” she breathed, matching his pattern with her own hands. It felt delicious to be able to feel his skin without a supersuit in the way. “We should just let her believe that, by the way.”

“You’re the boss,” he muttered as he gripped her butt with both hands to pick her up and lay her back down on the bed, leaning over her to take her nipple in his teeth.

“Oh god, Adrien!” she cried.

He froze, and she looked up at him. The intensity of his stare surprised her.

“I didn’t realize until right now how much I wanted to hear you moan my name. My _real_ name.” He bent his head back to her breasts. “Do it again.”

He bit down on her nipple again and she had no problem complying.

“ _Adrien!_ Oh fuck!”

She reached down to pull his head back up to hers so she could kiss him. He let her for a few moments, then pulled away again, watching her face as he reached between them to stroke her pussy over her panties.

She let her eyes close and moaned, reaching down to grasp his belt. She managed to get the buckle and button of his trousers undone and slip her hand inside to rub his bulge.

“Shit, Marinette!” he moaned in turn, pressing his face into her neck.

After a moment Adrien stood up to divest himself of his trousers and boxers, then pressed a kiss to her pussy against the silk before slipping her panties down her legs. He crawled back over her body again, letting his cock settle against her core but not entering her yet, and she canted her hips to press against him. He stilled her with one hand to her hip and cupped her face with the other.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

“I’m perfect. I just want to look at you for a moment.”

He leaned down to kiss her gently again, lacing his fingers with hers against the bed. It was sweet, but the heat in her belly wouldn’t let her keep things gentle for long, and after a moment she stoked his intensity by drawing his lower lip between her teeth and biting down on it.

He thrust against her in response and they both moaned, spurring him to do it again.

“Please, please Adrien,” Marinette begged him, and by the way his cock twitched against her, that was an unmet need of his as well.

Adrien shifted his hips and pressed his cock into her pussy slowly, his tongue in her mouth keeping her from crying out. When he was fully sheathed inside her he stilled again, leaning back to look at her.

The adoration in his face almost made her cry.

He pulled his hips back and thrust in again, more firmly this time, and she did cry out. He released one hand so he could stroke the skin of her neck as he picked up a rhythm, driving into her steadily as if he wanted to feel every moment.

“God Marinette,” he murmured. “You’re so beautiful. You’re so beautiful and you feel so good, and you’re mine.”

He leaned in to bite her ear, gently avoiding her earring.

“Say you’re mine,” he ordered huskily, his teeth grazing the shell of her ear. “I want to hear you say it.”

“I’m yours,” she panted without hesitation. “I’m yours, Adrien.”

“ _Fuck_ ,” he hissed. “Again.”

“I love you. I’m yours, Adrien, and you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” he confirmed breathlessly. “I love you, Marinette. I love you so much.”

He sunk his teeth into her ear again and she dug her nails into his back, for a moment marveling that she could actually do that before another thrust of his cock drove that concern from her mind.

Adrien paused to slide backwards and stood, drawing her with him, so that her hips hung just off the edge of the bed, and then he thrust into her again. The change of angle hit the right spot deep in her pussy and she cried out as he pressed his thumb to her clit in the masterful way that he’d learned as Chat.

She didn’t have his body to hold on to anymore, and the increased stimulation was driving her tension higher, so Marinette grasped at whatever she could reach. She squeezed the comforter above her head and to her side, then palmed her own breasts, her pants becoming whimpers as she neared her edge.

As if he could sense her precipice, Adrien leaned in again and kissed her hard, and she found an anchor in his shoulders as she fell over the edge.

She was sure she was leaving marks as her nails dug into his skin, but she didn’t care, and she screamed his name as the intense waves of her orgasm washed over her.

“Adrien! Oh god oh god oh god oh GOD _ADRIEN_ ohhhhhHHHH!”

“Fuck, Marinette, I’m going to come!” he grunted. “Fuck, oh fuck, oh God, god I love you, I love you, I love you, Mari!”

She could feel the swell of his cock deep inside her as he came, with two final firm thrusts before he stilled, lying most of his weight on her small frame, panting heavily.

As the tension dissipated from her body, Marinette stroked Adrien’s back and dug her fingers into her hair, wanting to touch every part of him. When she scratched at his scalp lightly, a rumble started in his chest. She chuffed in surprise.

“You can purr when you’re not transformed?”

“A little,” he muttered, propping himself up on his elbow to look at her face. “When I’m really happy.”

Marinette smiled softly, and leaned up to kiss him again, slowly.

“God you really are an amazing kisser,” he mumbled against her mouth.

She laughed, and gave him another firm smack on the lips before he rolled himself off her with a groan. They lay next to each other, heads touching, as they caught their breath.

“So,” Adrien began. “What now?”

“Well, you can stay the night now right? Since you don’t have to worry about detransforming?”

“You want me to stay?”

She turned her head to look at him fully.

“Of course I want you to stay!”

“Then I’ll stay,” he smiled at her fondly, then it dropped into a frown. “Although, the only clothes I have is my tux.”

“You don’t need clothes to stay the night. In fact, I prefer you naked.” Marinette propped herself up on her elbow to ogle his body teasingly.

“As nice as it is to be appreciated, I’m more worried about tomorrow. Of course, it’s not like I’m going to go HOME, so I guess the problem would be the same regardless.”

Her tease softened into sympathy.

“Of course you’re not going home. We can get you clothes for tomorrow somehow.”

“I could probably sneak over there as Chat and come back, but I don’t even want to do that, really.”

Marinette thought for a moment, then sat up.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

She leapt up and pulled on her robe, trying not to notice him watching her dress. Then she slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Plagg? Are you out here?”

“What’s up, pigtails?” the little black deity appeared from the kitchen, and Marinette beckoned him to follow her to the living room, noting Tikki appearing behind him.

“I need to get Adrien some clothes, but I don’t want him going back to his house. You know what he actually wears, can you grab some things for him if I create Voyage into his closet?”

Plagg gave her a soft look.

“You got it, Marinette. He needs to stay out of there.”

“You’re telling me.”

Marinette pulled on the horse miraculous spectacles and turned to address Kaalki as he appeared.

“Kaalki, full gallop!”

As soon as the transformation was complete, she continued “Voyage!”

Plagg didn’t waste any time, zipping into the portal as soon as it appeared. He returned almost as quickly, appearing as a floating pile of fabrics which dropped onto the living room floor.

Marinette laughed as she saw what was on top. She folded the shirt and jeans neatly and gathered the pajamas and underwear.

Adrien looked up from the pillows when she reentered her bedroom. He’d pulled on his boxer-briefs but left the rest, and she couldn’t help but ogle his physique. She’d gotten glimpses of his chiseled chest and abs through his ads of course, but she was more impressed with the way his shorts emphasized his butt and thighs. It was hard not to stare.

He cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow at her challengingly.

She flushed a little, embarrassed that he could _still_ affect her like this, but made herself power through it.

“I almost don’t want to give you these,” she teased, tossing him the Ladybug pajama pants. “I could get used to this view.”

“I don’t even want to know how you got these.”

“I am miraculous, after all.”

He smiled.

“That you are. Come here.”

He reached an arm out to her and she slid into the bed beside him, cuddling into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. She marveled at how easy it was to slip into this dynamic with him.

“Thanks for letting me stay Marinette. Tomorrow I’ll go find my own apartment. It’s long overdue.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“That’s ok. I have to be an adult _some_ time.”

“I don’t mind, I told Gianno that I would meet with him. Would you come with me for _that_? We could go after.”

“You don’t need me, didn’t you see his face when you were talking? He LOVES you. Although,” Adrien paused as he realized something. “Maybe I _should_ ride your coattails to that meeting. I should see if he’d still be willing to have me model for him.”

“I think his designs would look amazing on you. Of course, I think everything, and nothing, looks amazing on you.”

He gave her a cheeky smile.

“I’m happy to wear as little clothing as you want, whenever you want, Marinette,” he teased, trailing his fingers over her skin. “I’ll go meet Gianno with you so I can beg for a job, but I’ll do the apartment hunting myself. I want to be able to surprise you.”

“I’m not even going to ask what that means,” she sighed. “If you’re sure. You should consider taking Alya, though. She’s amazing at sniffing out scams and finding what the landlords don’t want you to see.”

“She’s foxy like that?”

Marinette glanced up at him, catching the smirk before he could hide it.

“Yeah ok, I guess it’s not that hard to figure out everyone’s identities once you know mine.”

“You can trust me.”

“I know I can, kitty.”

He inhaled sharply.

“I like it when you call me that.”

“Better than ‘sir’?”

He shuddered.

“No.”

He moved to pepper soft kisses along her jaw, pulling her more underneath him.

“Really?” she sighed as his hands started stroking her hip. “Again? Already?”

“I’m miraculous too, my Lady,” he teased, before he captured her lips again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue coming soon!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some time later...

Chapter 11 epilogue

Multimouse was breathing heavily as she flexed her fingers, straining against the cord of her jump rope as it held her wrists in place. She shifted slightly, letting a bit of weight rest on the hook in the high ceiling that held her bound arms above her head, but the change in position caused the vibrator in her pussy to shift, and the sensations that shot through her caused her knees to buckle. She moaned, and let more weight hang on the hook as she tried to adjust, but the toy was fastened well enough that she couldn’t find any friction in the places she needed it most.

She tried to distract herself from her aching need by looking out at the city through the massive windows she was facing. That failed, however, as she could see the ghost of her reflection in the glass, giving her a kind of voyeuristic delight. Red cheeked and panting, her suit was still zipped up at the back, but by no means intact. Gaping slashes exposed her breasts, her thighs, her pussy, her ass, and her back, with light red scratches standing out against her pale skin in some spots. The hook she was bound to was directly in front of the center pane, giving her an unobstructed view and leaving her exposed. While a part of her trusted that Adrien would never take chances with his privacy, she had never actually asked him whether anyone could see in through the floor to ceiling windows of his apartment. The thought that she might be bared to anyone looking up gave her a thrill.

She shivered, and shifted her hips again to try and maneuver the toy inside her.

“You know, this really is an excellent photograph,” purred a sensual voice behind her.

Multimouse jumped. She hadn’t realized he was in the room, and the cold fear of her mouse instincts washed over her. Her breathing sped up.

“Were you misbehaving, little mouse? Trying to move that toy from where I had put it?”

“N-no,” she stammered.

She jumped again as something hard and flat smacked her bare ass.

“Not lying to me, are you pet?”

“No sir, sorry. Yes, I was trying to move the toy.”

“You need more, do you?”

“Yeesss,” Multimouse hissed as she felt him rub the warm spot on her ass with his palm.

“Well that will just have to wait a little bit. I was reading this charming piece about you and Adrien Agreste, and I have to say, this is a really enchanting photo of the two of you.”

Without asking, Multimouse knew exactly which photo he was talking about. A picture of Marinette and Adrien on the red carpet at the gala, smiling at each other with matching apparently-love-sick grins. At the time of the event she hadn’t actually intended anything of the sort, but the photo, all soft pink and fancy clothes, definitely made it look like they were head over heels for each other.

_“Which we were_ ,” she thought, trying to shift again, more subtly.

Chat Noir circled her with easy nonchalance, giving no indication he was aware of her growing desperation as he flipped the page of the glossy magazine.

_“Agreste and his girlfriend, long-time friend and fashion student Marinette Dupain-Cheng, have a story out of a fairy tale,”_ Chat read aloud. _“The pair are the new up and comers in the world of Italian couture, both of their incredible talents guaranteeing a stratospheric trajectory in the world of fashion. But more compelling than their careers is their connection. Anyone with eyes can see that theirs is a true, pure relationship, built on all the innocence and romance of first love._ ”

Chat stopped behind her, pressing his bulge into her back, and leaned over her shoulder. His claw trailed down her neck as he hissed into her ear.

“Is that what you have with Adrien, little mouse? A fairy-tale relationship of romance and innocence?”

Multimouse swallowed and gasped as he trailed his claw over her exposed nipple.

He stepped back and smacked her ass with the paddle again.

“I asked you a question, pet,” he hissed in her ear again. “Is that what you have with Adrien?”

“ _Y-yesss_ , ohhhhhh!” Multimouse hissed and bucked against her bonds as he cupped her cunt and pressed the toy deeper into her.

“Then it’s a good thing you have me to truss you up like this,” he purred, thrusting the vibrator in and out of her. “Imagine what they would write if they knew, that sweet innocent Marinette really loved getting marked, smacked, and _fucked_ by the hero of Paris.”

He smacked her ass again, tightening the coil of pleasure in her abdomen.

“Pleeease, Chat, pleeeease,” she whimpered, desperate for release, his voice hissing in her ear sending electricity down all her nerves.

Chat pulled the toy out of her pussy and tossed it aside. Multimouse was both bereft at the loss and hopeful that he might fuck her instead, but she couldn’t see what he was doing.

“Spread your legs for me, little mouse,” he ordered, and she did as she was told.

She was surprised to feel his thumb pressing on her ass, the lubricant covering it allowing him easy access.

“Ohh, oohh, god,” she gasped as he massaged her backside.

“Just relax,” he muttered, and then withdrew his hand and pressed what she recognized to be an anal plug against her hole. A big one, from the feel of it.

“Oh god, Chat!” she cried as he pressed it into her.

“You’re doing so well, little pet,” he murmured in her ear. “You can take it. Take it all in, and then I’ll fuck you. I like to feel it against me when I fuck you.”

As her tight bud finally took the toy, he reached around to gently rub her clit. She moaned as her excitement ramped up again.

“Are you ready for me?” he muttered into her ear.

“Yes, please, please Chat, please fuck me,” she babbled, leaning her weight on her rope again.

She heard Chat unzip his suit and then felt the hard heat of his cock rub against her wet cunt. He pulled back and pressed it against the plug in her ass and she gasped, moaning and pleading with him to fuck her.

After what seemed like ages, he finally pressed the head of his cock to her pussy and thrust up into her. Hard.

“Is that what you wanted, little mouse?” he asked as he thrust into her again, holding her steady by her hips, his claws pricking into her waist. “You want me to fuck you hard?”

“Yes! Yes! Oh God, please Chat! Ohhhh!” Multimouse moaned. Every thrust of his cock hit the bundle of nerves deep inside her, and the stimulation of the plug was adding a sweet-pain sensation that amplified everything.

“You’re so close already,” he muttered, slowing his pace, and Multimouse whined in frustration. “Not so fast, I want to feel it when you come around my cock.”

He held her to him by wrapping one arm around her waist to rub at her clit, and his other hand moved between them to toy with the plug. As he continued to thrust into her, the various sensations threatened to overwhelm her.

“Please, Chat! Please please please please please,” she begged.

“Come for me, pet.”

She released, letting her knees give way and resting her weight on her wrists and Chat’s arm holding her up, screaming her pleasure as wave after wave of her orgasm shuddered through her body. As she was finally returning to earth, she felt him tense and pick up his pace, and she could see his eyes close in the window’s reflection as the hot swell of his cock and his own release inside her sent a new wave of pleasure over her.

They stayed like that for a few moments with his cock still inside her, both breathing heavily, Multimouse still hanging from her bound wrists rather than trying to get her legs to hold her weight.

As his breathing slowed, Chat stepped back and let himself slip out of her. He then scooped her up at the knees, unhooked the jump rope from the hook in the ceiling, and carried her over to the bed.

Chat lay her down and gently pulled the plug out, casting it aside. He untied her wrists, massaging each one and pressing kisses to the delicate skin on the inside. Multimouse’s heart fluttered.

Satisfied that she was unharmed, Chat pulled her against his chest and began to purr. Multimouse smiled and ran her hands over his chest, relishing the feeling of the vibrations.

“You ok?” he murmured into her hair.

“Hmm mmm,” she hummed in answer. “I love you.”

The purr ratcheted up a notch.

“I love you too, princess,” he answered, squeezing her body against him. “That was amazing.”

She let her fingers dig into his pectoral muscles, then trail down to his abs. She would never get tired of feeling his body.

Multimouse smirked as she let her fingers trail even lower, but Chat caught them in his own hand.

“Whatcha doing there, little mouse?” he asked.

She sat up and gave him a smirk.

“Detransform,” she commanded. “Ladybug wants a turn with Adrien.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for coming along on this ride with me! Whenever I finish that alternative Chapter 10, I'll post the link for the fic in a new chapter here.


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